Name of the Game
by Yumi-taichou8
Summary: When a girl with a hidden and dark past comes to Karakura, will Ichigo and his friends be able to help her experience the true meaning of love or will the shadows consume her and them as well? short fic. pls R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, no time no see eh? I am so very sorry about the long absence…just a lot of crap been going on in my life and new developments popping up. SO…I have decided to try something new. I am going to experiment with first-view, self-put writing. This will also be a short fic, unlike my other fics. Just to get the juices flowing again! So go gentle, ne?

Disclaimer: I really have to don't I?....fine, fine!! I do not own Bleach. This wonderful piece and the smexy men in it belong to Tite Kubo.

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'_**Why can't I ever do anything right?.... Why do I always have to mess everything up?..... I…..I AM worthless…' **_My thoughts repeated in the same manner over and over in my head. My feet walking down the sidewalk, just bypassing the people that had a purpose in their steps. I let myself drift, my mind becoming blank as memories from my past flit through. I finally notice that I have come to a complete stop outside of a school. I look at a sign to my left '_**Karakura High, huh?....well now…' **_My thought is interrupted by a crash coming from the grounds and laughing swelled afterward. I felt the corners of my mouth twitch as I cock my head to the side.

"**ICHIGOOOOO!!! Why do you have to be sooo mmeeeeaaannn!!???!! Wahhhaahhh!!" **A boy's voice slicing through the air, slightly startling me. My eyes widen as my mouth twitched harder than the first time. Hands clutching harder at the lining of my jacket, I twisted my head to see if anyone was watching me. I would think it was strange myself if I saw a young girl standing outside a school doing nothing as well. I turned my head to its original position.

Silence meet my return. Assuming that they had gone back inside to the building, I turned to face the direction I had been walking when I rammed into something solid and hard. I braced myself for the impact…that never came. It took one second to realize this and another second to also realize that I had my eyes closed. I slowly opened them, only to be dazzled by a shock of burning orange. I lowered my gaze to fall on the face of the owner, only to yet again get awed. Flaming brown eyes caught my gaze and everything….stopped.

Have you ever felt like motion has ceased to exist? Like the very essence of time is gone? Well that's how it felt to me, as corny as that seems.

Then and only then did it occur to me that whoever had me was…talking?.....yes, if the rapid movement of their mouth was any indication. I focused in on what they were trying to say and made out a sentence or two.

"**Oi! Did you hear me? Are you okay?...OI!!" **

My eyes shifted to the right and saw that there was a small crowd forming. A sharp pain suddenly hit me, and the last thing I remember is those brown, flaming eyes widening and their mouth opening to say something else.

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So, how is that for starters? Short, I know but…*shrug* Any suggestions or comments are extremely appreciated! Please review as those will judge if I continue this or not. All that I ask is for…let's say 4 reviews. That's not asking for much is it? Thank you for taking the time to read this!! ^^ R&R!! *bows*


	2. So That's It

Chapter 2: So that's it?

Disclaimer: ..IT!! *sob*

A/N: First, I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read this. It means a great deal to me. Second I would like to say a very appreciated thanks to Blue Fire Kitsune for being the first person to review and encouraging me in this fic. You really do not know how much that means to me!! So I am slightly dedicating this you Kit! I'll write you a chapter worthy of your praise soon! Again thank you everyone!!

'_**Am I dead?....no, I'm…floating….what is that noise…..I…I don't….no…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'**_

The scream tore out of my mouth as I forced myself up, eyes snapping open. Limbs flailed as I tried to untangle myself from whatever was holding me. Another scream ripped through me, and my sight became blurred. A distant sound caused my already frazzled nerves to jump, my breathing becoming ragged and uneven. Choking down a sob, I looked around and came to a brief conclusion that I was not at my apartment just as the door to my right slammed open.

A flurry of motions and events happened.

The first was the mass of people that came rushing into the room, causing me to scream again and fall off the bed I was lying on (I'll assume as it squeaked when my weight left it) which then lead to hands grasping at me. I slapped the offending appendages away from me, yelling at whatever it was. Jumping up from the floor, I immediately began pressing myself as close to the wall as I possibly could. Tears streaming down my face as I tried to calm myself down. A soothing voice broke through my racing thoughts, and I latched onto it without hesitation. One more sob forced itself thought my lips, as my breathing regulated itself out. Blinking several times helped to clear my vision.

I gazed at the people that now crowded the room, pressed against the opposite walls. The first person my eyes landed on was a girl with long, flowing orange hair. Bright, brown eyes stared at me with concern. I took in her body next. Soft, pale skin seemed to glow from beneath her school uniform, and her legs seemed to go on for miles. A petite waist and a very full bosom…this girl had to be a model. After looking back up to her face and seeing the blush threatening to flame her face, I shifted my gaze to the next person.

A short, petite girl with raven hair met my stare full on. Violet eyes with a burning flame clashed with my own. A small stature, yet her stance projected raw power. She was not as full as the first girl, but that only seemed to enhance the innocence of her childlike body.

The person I next encountered shocked me. Flaming red hair and bold tattoos immediately held my attention. A deep scowl was set on the face, and as I let my gaze drop down I realized that it seemed to correspond with body language. Arms crossing in the front that also housed bold tattoos and a firm body were passed. I blinked thinking of the reasons why this person would want to call attention to themselves like that, when a small cough caught my attention.

I slide my gaze to lock onto the person slightly closest to me. Lean, withdrawn, yet reeking with power as well, the boy it seemed was also evaluating me. Just as I was doing with his….friends, I presume. Analyzing and storing blatant information. He seemed to be the smarts of the group. I made sure to keep him in the forefront of my mind.

My next assessment put me in such a state of shock, that I briefly stopped breathing. Tan skin, built physic, tall stature, and a mess of shaggy brown hair enthralled me. What caused my heart to almost give out were not these observations however. It was the soulful brown eyes that made me catch my breath. Something about them caused a memory deep within my mind to come up.

Flashback

_A young girl of the age 6 is walking down a beaten-dirt pathway. Her hair, pulled into a high ponytail, is a deep brown, on the verge of black, and shines from the sun positioned in the sky. Sweat pours down her face and as she raises a hand wiping some of it away, she slows her steps. Ears picking up on distant cries cause her to become curious and making up her mind, she follows the sounds. After her walk of ten minutes, she picks her way through a few bushes, only trip on a half buried root. Closing her eyes, she braces herself for the impact._

_Falling to the ground, she rolls a couple of times, coming to stop in front of a small cavern. Sitting up slightly, she assesses the damage she took from her fall. A bruise on her left leg and a multitude of small, bleeding scratches on her hands, arms, and legs show her that she is a little banged up, but nothing serious._

_Until she tries to stand up._

_A sharp cry falls from her mouth as a throbbing pain sears through her right leg. Shifting so that the majority of her weight is on her left, she lifts up the edge of her sky blue and rich lavender sundress. Looking down at the point where the pain is most extreme, she sees that her ankle is slowly starting to swell and a nasty bruise is forming around the hurting area. A soft sigh passing her lips is the only reaction that she makes upon the conclusion that she has indeed sprained her ankle…horribly._

_Praying that her aunt will understand later on, she swiftly reseats herself on the ground and deftly tears a lengthy strip of material from the bottom of her dress. Deftly tying it around her ankle, she nods in satisfaction at her handiwork and looks at her surroundings. A small grove surrounds her and a small lake to her left leaves her breathless and eyes shining. A small sob brings her back from her admiration of the beauty around her and she remembers her original purpose for coming here._

_Getting herself up and adjusting her center of balance, she makes her way to an opening in the forest near her. Peering down, she sees a small figure shaking with sobs not heard. Her heart leaps to her throat as waves of immense sorrow engulf her, bringing her down into the depths of despair. Throwing caution to the wind, she goes forward; encasing the small body in her arms and begins softly stroking the mess of hair atop. _

_Cooing soothing words in the child's hair, she gently rocks them. The body stiffens at first contact, but then clutches her to them, drawing more deeply into her body, seeking the warmth and security that she is providing. Briefly looking up, watery, deep brown eyes, begging for relief, lock with hers before ducking back to the warmth of her body. Sinking to the forest ground, she remains silent, allowing the child to cry into her bosom._

_When silence begins to creep, she gently pulls the child away from her, to discover that they are asleep. A burning warmth that she has never experienced before swells within her bosom, causing tears to unknowingly fall from her eyes as she sweeps some of the obscuring hair from their face. Air is sucked back suddenly as she gazes upon the child's face. Milky, smooth tanned skin, full lips, and drying tears greet her. A shuddering breath goes in and comes back out from pressed lips, and she makes the sudden decision that she will protect this child to her dying breath._

_Adjusting the child just so, she carefully maneuvers herself into a standing position, by using a nearby tree. Making sure to keep as much weight as possible off her hurt ankle, she slowly begins her journey back home, with her precious bundle tucked securely in her arms. _

_Clouds drift across the sky and as twilight sets, causing reds, oranges, purples, and soft blues to meld together, she looks up thanking whoever maybe watching over them, that she has found a reason to keep living._

End Flashback

Gasping for air, I look wildly around. Tears streak my face again, a whimper works its way up my throat, and I suddenly feel that everything is constricting me. I lock back on widened eyes and a sob racks my body hard. I hear a scream rip through the room and I cry out as well. My vision darkens, and my body sways slightly. A shout makes me focus briefly on the same shock of orange hair from before and I sluggishly move my eyes down to meet the owner's gaze.

Flashing dark eyes catch mine and my lips tremble from the effort of not calling out to them. A sudden pain flares in my midsection. Gasping, I move my hands to grasp at it, slowly looking down. Another cry is made, but I don't heed it. Crimson is the first thing I see and I slowly look back up, locking once again on the same dark orbs. I blink once, twice and everything blacks out.

Warmth surges through me as two lean arms stop my descent to the tiled floor beneath me. Cradling me gently to a hard, yet soft body, whoever has me shakes me gently, trying to keep me from falling back into the darkness that threatens to consume me again. The same voice shatters my mind and I blink rapidly, trying my hardest to fight off the black that cuts off my vision. Another ripple of raw pain has me arching from them, a deafening scream ripping from my throat. My eyes snap open and are immediately drawn to the wide eyes above me. I vaguely taste blood in my mouth, and the eyes widening more confirm my suspicions. A handsome face fills my view and as the tears begin to obscure the face once more, I whisper the last thing that flits though my mind, before I finally give into the gripping pain and shadows.

"**So…that's it then…"**

Okay, so how was that for a second chapter eh? Got ya even more curious now? Well, the only way you will get another chapter is by….wait…wait for it….YOU ARE CORRECT SIR and MADAM!!! Reviewing!! All suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated and if there is something that you do not like about this chapter, please PLEASE tell me so that I can reframe from it in future chapters. ^^ thank you!


	3. Realizations come forth

Chapter 3: Teach me…someone

A/N: YES!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!....0.0…^^' sorry, got a little carried away there! Uh-hem, but yes I am back. I apologize to you all for the long wait, but I had some difficulty thinking of this next chapter. This will be short unfortunately, so I again apologize beforehand for this. I want to thank all of you who have become involved in this story and your words of encouragement have been an anchor to me. I ask that you continue to encourage me and if there is anything that you would like to see change, I will gladly see what can be done. I will, however, in no way change this story. So if you do not like it or my writing style, then I ask that you please let me know in a mature manner and I will see what can be done. With that said, let's hit it!! Enjoy!

A/N: Warning- there will be mild cursing in this chapter and hints at sexual abuse. Please be cautious when reading. If this offends you, then please skip from "when memories" to "Whimpers." You have been fairly warned. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own this........never will, will never happen......NOW GET OFF MY CASE!!! *sob*

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Blackness engulfs me on either side, my vision completely blocked. I vaguely feel a slightly pulsation from somewhere in my lower abdominal area. A small grunt vibrates through my chest as pressure gently builds around the area, and then vanishes only to appear briefly, and repeats. Blackness starts to lighten to a dull gray, and accompanying this transition was a buzz of distorted words barely tangible to my mind.

"_**She must….."**_

With each passing second my mind becomes less foggy and the words become sharper.

"_**Gotta get Urahara..."**_

"_**This could be bad….."**_

"_**That couldn't have been her could it?"**_

These words swirling in my mind, the blackness trying to take back control, the slight pulsing in my head and the searing pain flaring in my abdomen all merged into one ball of tension…and I let it out.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" **My throat constricted tightly, abruptly cutting off my air supply and causing me to convulse. Hot tears slide from my tightly closed eyes and my insides felt as if someone had poured steaming, boiling water all over them. I suddenly felt pressure being applied to my arms, legs, shoulders and thighs. A sob broke though my lips as dark memories surged forward, reminding of who I was….what I did…..disgust and horror blasted through the walls I had created around myself, and time stood still.

I became still.

And the memories played on.

"Dirty, filthy whore!!"

"Ungrateful slut!!"

"I WISH YOU WERE DEAD, YOU BITCH!!"

Whimpers shuddered through me as more hot tears streamed down my cheeks. A keening sound tore through me as the memories kept replaying over in my head. Shame and guilt swirled within me, and I let myself be pulled once again into the darkness of my soul.

Knowing that I could never purge myself of this burden, of my past. Knowing that no matter what I did, I would never be pure again.

Numbness seeped into my soul and mind, encasing me in my nightmare. A voice sluggishly reached me, piercing through the thick dark like a knife.

"**Hey, onna, can you hear me? Oi!"**

Warmth encased my frigid hand, halting the trembles that shook it, shook my entire body. The warmth tingled from there and then spread. My body seemed to pulse in time with the person's own heartbeat, creating a soft rhythm that soothed the fire in my veins; the healing balm that caused a sigh to pass from my lips in contentment.

The pressure and warmth that originated from my hand let up. Fear gripped me instantly and I tightened my grip, trying to make it stay. Keep me from falling again.

**_'No…don't leave me….don't let me fall……I'll be good….I'LL BE GOOOOOODD!!!!' _**The scream tore from my mouth, causing the person to also tighten their grip, a war between who could hold on longer waged against us. A burning pain seized my throat, making me battle my own body for the right to live.

I felt my body being grasped and pulled toward something solid, hard…..safe. Trembling hands clutched at coarse fabric as I buried my face into a warm surface, breathing in sweat, blood, and power. The rushing of blood tempted me, singing to me, soothing me. My ragged breathing began to even out as I clutched tighter.

Silence soon filled the area I was in and when I felt ready enough to face the audience I was certain had gathered, I tilted my head slightly so that I could see through the curtain of my hair and take in my surroundings. The same people as before were there, I made sure to quickly skip over the male that had caused my faint in the first place, and was surprised that there were a couple of new additions to the group. The first that caught my attention was a redhead with a scowl much like the first I had observed, only mini-size and minus the tattoos. **_'Kawaii.' _**Next to him was a young girl with midnight black hair and a melancholy disposition. A burly man came into my line of vision next. Tanned skin, dark glasses, and braids were put in and immediately I felt a sense of affection for him akin to that of a girl to her paternal grandparent. My eyes slightly widened at the last two people. A man with a fan and a green-and-white striped hat made me uneasy, yet curious. The dark-skinned woman beside him made me desire to just sit and stare at her for as long as possible. Thick purple hair in a high ponytail and piercing yellow eyes captured me. I blinked and suddenly was assaulted with a burning raw feeling pounding into my soul. I shuddered and shook my head, a keening sound escaping from me and shrunk into the body that still held me.

………….wait………..NANI!!???!!

I whipped my head up fast to yet again be met with burning dark eyes. I quietly gasped as a bright orange attacked my senses and a tugging desire to run my fingers through the locks flooded me. Eyes locked in a silent struggle gave me time to realize just how I was situated with him. My upper body was pressed flush against him and my arms were completely wrapped around him, fingers anchoring into his white school shirt. A blush lightly surfaced to my cheeks. Looking down to my lap, I relaxed, sliding my arms from his back and gently pressing him away. Quickly assessing everything, I took one more glance at him, witnessing the stunning shock and confusion within golden eyes….wait golden?

Blinking rapidly, I stared again into his eyes. Ocher eyes starred back, a scowl engulfing his features. Raising an eyebrow in silent challenge, I turned my head to face the man in green with the fan. Licking my lips to prepare my self to speak, I once more glanced at everyone, making sure that there was not one that I had not counted. Once assured, I locked eyes with the blond man and spoke.

"Where I am and who are you people?" I spoke firmly, leaving no room for interruptions.

The man grinned and opened his fan, hiding his face. My fingers tightened into the covers on my lap. This seemed to jolt everyone from their stupor from the moment that the male to my left and I had just a few moments ago. Putting up their guards, they all looked at the man as well. Once assured that he had everyone's attention, he replied back to my questions.

"**Ah, I am relieved to see that you are okay! You gave us quite a scare when you passed** **out on us for a second time."**

Eyes widening again, I shifted my head to hide the blush that surged forth with vengeance. Swallowing, I cleared my throat.

"*Arigatou gozaimasu. I am grateful that you fixed my wounds. If there is anything I can do to repay what you have done, please do not hesitate to request it and I shall fulfill it with gratitude."

Silence wrapped itself around the room. I could feel everyone's stare settling onto my figure. I braced myself for whatever his request could be, praying that it would be quick and merciful. A chuckle rang through the room and snapping my head up to stare at him, I cocked my head to one side, regarding him with caution.

"**Well, if it is repayment you offer, then you can fulfill it by simply answering some of our questions."**

Shock raced through me as I let my mouth open slightly. I snapped it closed quickly, narrowing my eyes at him.

"**Of course, we won't ask anything too personal!" **He grinned, slightly laughing.

I went over his request in my head, dissecting it and turning it over, looking at any hidden meanings behind it. Finding no faults or suspicion, I slowly nodded my head in agreement.

Snapping the fan closed with a flick of his wrist, he smiled at me. **"Excellent!! Well then, I shall hand it over to Yoruichi-dono!" **Gesturing to the woman next to him, he looked to her.

I looked over to the dark-skinned woman.

Her eyes had been closed once the conversation started, but now her eyes were trained solely on me. Bracing myself for a new onslaught of questions and placing walls around myself, I waited for her to begin.

Her mouth opening to begin, we were interrupted by the hat bearing man.

"**Sumimasen, but I just thought of something. Instead of Yoruichi-dono asking all the questions, why don't we allot a question per person? We would not want to over-work you….."**

At this point, he looked at me. It took me a second to realize that he was waiting for me to provide my name. Sliding my eyes close, I debated whether to use my real name or one of the many names that I had been living under. Weighing the pros and cons, I decided with the latter. Opening my eyes, I gave it to him.

"My name is Arena….Shitoname, Arena." I spoke with confidence, praying that he would accept it and move on.

Grinning, he shifted in his seat and leaning down, grasping the cup of steaming tea I front of him, his sipped it. Sighing, he set it back down.

"**Fine, we will go with that for now. In the future, however, I hope that we have the honor of knowing your real name, Arena-san."**

Hitching my breath into my throat, I looked at him with frightened eyes. Thoughts causing chaos within me, and unknown fears welling in me all at once made tears stream from my eyes. Swiftly leaning forward and clutching the blankets with a trembling grip, I forced myself to calm down and breathe deeply. Regaining my normal breathing, I slowly brought my head up, but looked at no-one, keeping my eyes on my hands.

"Ask your questions whenever you are ready." I said quietly.

"**Then let's get going." **He replied in kind.

The room filled with a sweat breaking tension that had the occupants strung up, tensing with the weight of the situation.

_So it begins…..so it shall start…and the world will fall…_

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So how was it? I'm sorry if it was a bit sloppy, but I promise to fine tune the next chapter, so go easy on me pwease!! Reviews are encouraged and suggestions will be gladly looked at! Also I am debating on having a contest concerning this story in later chapters. Details will be provided when I have decided on what I shall do. Also, I would like to warn beforehand that this chapter will start to hold dark meanings in it, but not for long!! So have no fear! So tell me whatcha' thinking and see ya next chapter!! JA NE MINNA-SAN!!

*Arigatou gozaimasu – This is a deeper thanking than Arigatou, one that offers immense gratitude.


	4. The Burning Truth and Flaming Dreams

Hey everyone!! I am back, did ya miss me!! fine then be that way! *sticks tongue out* Before we get this show on the road, I want to give a special shout out to Silver Kitsune Lunara. Without her, I would never find the intiative to continue this fic ot the desire to make proud. Thank you Kitsu-chan for cheering me on. And now without further ado, I present to you the fourth chapter of 'Name of the Game' please enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Must we see how much more my poor heart can take? I do not own it!! *sob*

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The woman, Yoruichi, began the interrogation. I quickly prepared myself for anything that could come up, trying to remain one step ahead of them at all cost.

"**Where did you come from**?" She asked finally, the heavy tension in the room increasing ten-fold. Looking at her with a passive face, I let the lie flow from my lips without second thought.

"**I just recently came back from the states, where I lived with my relatives.**" I answered coolly, fighting the urge to snap at her. '_If I play it cool, then maybe these people will let me leave. If not, then I will have to find some kind of distraction long enough for me to escape._' My thoughts starting to formulate a plan of action, I tuned back in to the next person.

The busty orange haired girl cleared her throat and all eyes fixed on her. She stuttered for a moment and I slightly softened my gaze on her. The grateful smile that formed on her lips made something jerk in my chest. Lightly passing a hand over the spot, I nodded at her for her to ask her question.

"**Demo, Arena-san, why were you near our school?**" She quietly inquired. Again all eyes shifted to me.

Licking my lips, I stared at her. Coming to my decision, I answered her as truthfully as I could.

"**I can** **not really say why I was there. I was just walking around; I really did not have any fore-planned place to go. It was merely coincidence that I happened to be at your school.**" A snort of disbelief came from the red-haired, tattooed man in the corner. I glanced at him and frowned.

"**Is** **there something displeasing about the answers I give unto you?**" I asked frigidly, a cold rage burning just underneath the surface. Bodies shifted into defensive stances and the air became even more tensed if possible. I also went into my own defensive pose, my fist clenching the sheets and my hackles rising up. The growl that ripped from my throat resounded in the room, eyes snapping wide at my feral state.

The man I was addressing tensed further, hand going immediately to the sword at his side. A snarl rose in my throat at the hidden threat, my eyes shifting from each person. Everyone was on edge, the young woman who had asked me the second question looked at me with cautious eyes and the man's eyes and my own clashed in silent war. Muscles bunching under taunt skin, I prepared myself to lung at him when the fan baring man snapped his fan closed, causing us all to jump and gaze at him.

The purpled hair woman and he had been silent for most of the questioning and truth be told, I had forgotten of their existence in the room. Momentarily taken aback, I slumped backward against the pillow behind me, my energy suddenly depleted. Everyone also relaxed slightly, not taking their attention from me, but also giving the man their attention as well. The room was filled with intense silence until he deemed talking appropriate.

"**Well that certainly was a bit off track, ne**?" He grinned to ease the tension, but even I could tell that he was ready for any threat from me. I swallowed thickly, the rush of adrenaline flowing out of me and leaving me exhausted.

"**I apologize for my reaction, however I will not be disrespected. The answer I give is the answer I deem appropriate for the question asked.**" I stated, glancing at the man I had just been ready to maim. Our eyes locked in a small heated battle, promises of settling the score later sealed. The grinning man nodded his head, understanding where I was coming from. He cleared his throat and began to explain some new rules for the interrogation.

"**Let's do it like this: when it is your turn to ask a question to Arena-san and you are unsatisfied by her answer, kindly ask her to elaborate, or keep quiet until all questions have been asked and addressed, agreed?**" He looked around at every person, meeting their eyes and nodding. Heads showed agreement to the stated proposal and the tension lessened. He flicked the fan back open and looked at me. I reclined my head in silent agreement and awaited the other questions to be asked.

The man who I had deemed the brains of the group pushed up his glasses and spoke softly, but surely.

"**I understand that you did not purposefully seek out our school, but I am curious as to why you fainted to begin with after Kurosaki caught you?**" He locked eyes with me, patiently awaiting my answer.

I closed my eyes, going over the incident that started this whole mess. That put me in this situation.

Flashback:

_Silence met my return. Assuming that they had gone back inside to the building, I turned to face the direction I had been walking when I rammed into something solid and hard. I braced myself for the impact…that never came. It took one second to realize this and another second to also realize that I had my eyes closed. I slowly opened them, only to be dazzled by a shock of burning orange. I lowered my gaze to fall on the face of the owner, only to yet again get awed. Flaming brown eyes caught my gaze and everything….stopped. _

_Have you ever felt like motion has ceased to exist? Like the very essence of time is gone? Well that's how it felt to me, as corny as that seems._

_Then and only then did it occur to me that whoever had me was…talking?.....yes, if the rapid movement of their mouth was any indication. I focused in on what they were trying to say and made out a sentence or two._

"_**Oi! Did you hear me? Are you okay?...OI!!" **_

_My eyes shifted to the right and saw that there was a small crowd forming. A sharp pain suddenly hit me, and the last thing I remember is those brown, flaming eyes widening and their mouth opening to say something else._

End Flashback

I slowly open my eyes and lips trembling, answer as best I can.

"**All that I can tell you is that there was a pain, a throbbing pain. I do not believe that that would cause me to faint as I did, but is the only reason I can think of at this time.**" I spoke with uncertainty, silently pleading with him to take my answer and be done with his question. He nodded sated with my answer for now, but telling me that I would have to elaborate on my answer at a later time. Relief shot through me and I smiled at him gratefully.

The next person in line to ask a question was the man that had set my blood on fire with rage. He was opening his mouth to ask when an object was thrown at him, causing him to yelp in surprise and flail backwards, and promptly fall on his back, eagle-spread. The room was silent for a moment and laughter roared through the room. Again, taken aback, I watched as the people seemed to let the weight of the situation roll off them at the expense of the fallen man. Smiles brightened the room and affections and teases were thrown about. A pang of something foreign to me hit me in the chest as the burning of tears began to fill my eyes. '_This_ _feeling….is loneliness…and jealousy._' I thought in awe as the feeling spread into my whole being. I clutched the front of my shirt tightly, my body shaking from the effort of not crying out. I blinked rapidly, watching the group of friends bond with one another. I bowed my head, concentrating on breathing slowly, when it happened.

My head felt as if it was being smashed repeatedly into a concrete wall. My temples pulsed with the sensation, the feeling causing more tears to well in my eyes. Pressure built behind my eyes and it took everything in me not to scream. I heard the blood surging in my body, my veins, and my heart. Sounds that were normally not an issue to me and were ignored became weapons of pain and the laughter felt as if it were trying to tear my skull apart. Whimpers made their way up in my throat, furiously being squashed down by my stubbornness. I squinted, the peoples' outlines becoming blurry and going in-and-out of focus. My breathing became labored and I fought the urge to throw myself against the bedding I was sitting on. I clutched the shirt tighter, my nails creating indented crescents in my skin and small beads of blood to form. Pressure built in my chest and increased with every breath I took. I thought I would die from the searing pain in my head when it stopped. Sweat coated my face and dribbled down my chest, soaking my shirt and dampening my hair. Hands shook and my blood pounded in my body. Slowly, my vision began to correct itself and I could see that the whole experience had gone unnoticed by all. Taking a shaky breath to stabilize my self and wiping the sweat from my face, I mentally chastised my self for not handling the situation better.

Massaging my temples to soothe the receding pain and clear my mind, I was startled by a warm hand resting against my shoulder. I looked up slowly, locking eyes with the quiet, tanned man that had caused my second black-out. Brown eyes, shimmering with unbridled concern, silently asked if I was okay. I grimaced at the question. 'Apparently, it did not go unnoticed.' That thought caused my grimace to soften and removing my fingers from my temple, I slowly put one hand atop his, giving him ample time to remove it if he so wished, and nodded at him. Taking those actions as an affirmative that I was indeed okay, he smiled slightly, gently patting my shoulder and sat down on my other side. The room seemed too small then, the air seeming to suppress me and I let out a soft gasp. That caused the playing to stop and I blushed as eyes pierced me again, the weight making me uncomfortable in my own skin.

A surprise yawn escaped my mouth and I reluctantly rubbed at my eyes. The woman with the purple hair cocked her head to the side and grinned, getting up and looking at the others.

"**I believe that that is our sign to let her rest. Much has happened and we must let her regain the strength that she used answering our questions. Come one, everyone leave.**" She commanded. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to leave yet until the mystery that was I, was solved.

Sighing with irritation, she glanced at me. The question was unspoken, but I understood it all the same. I smiled tiredly and spoke, using what strength I had left. "**I will answer everyone else's questions later. Right now I am tired and would like to rest, if I may.**" I glanced warily at the others. My request seemed to affirm to the others that I was indeed lacking strength to continue the onslaught of burning questions. They stood up to take their leave, the girl with flowing orange hair smiling softly at me and the man in the glasses nodding to me. They all left and I lowered myself to the bed slowly, making sure not to disturb my wounds. Shock filled me as I acknowledge that and looking down while lifting my shirt slightly, saw that bandages had been rapped around my midsection. An eyebrow rose at this discovery and I tucked my shirt back down.

Resting on my back and throwing my left arm causally across my middle, I contemplated the conversations and events that had taken place during my first stay. Going over every word said and every action done, I decided that I would stay for while, only to get a better understanding of the odd group who had involuntarily entered my life. Closing my eyes and clearing out my thoughts and emotions, I heard the soft song of the rain outside. I chuckled to myself, 'This place is just full of surprises and the people are only worse…' then frowned. I should have been able to handle those questions better and not have been so flustered when that man challenged me. I raised my other arm and splayed my fingers in front of my face. Small beams of moonlight drifted through the window that I had just noticed. Turning my head, I watched as the rain fell to the earth, seeming to cleanse away all of the hurt, pain, confusion, anger, depression….every emotion that had befallen me and this world.

The soft, wet rhythm of the rain calmed my blistering soul and lulled me into a drowsy state. My hand dropped to my side, dead weight, and my breathing evened out. A sigh passed through my lips as I made myself comfortable on the bedding. Pulling the covers to my waist, I sluggishly listened to the humming of night insects and the chirping of the late-night birds. All this finally overcame my futile resistance of sleep and I fully surrendered to the soothing darkness. My mind blanked out and everything vanished.

_The wind blew my hair out of my face as I ran down the cobble-stone street. Sunlight streaked through the foliage that covered the sleepy town that I now lived in. Brightly colored birds took flight and their songs swelled in the sky, untouched by any blight of the earth. My feet pounded down a narrow street and a smile widened across my mouth. _

_Joy encased my being as I approached the little shop just ahead of me. Flying through the doors, I stop, stooping over trying to catch my breath. The sweet smells of the different candies overloaded my senses and a joyful squeal escaped my lips. Giggles came forth as I twirled around, lifting my arms in the air._

_A jingle resounded through the store as a back door opened and the figure of an older man walked in. My eyes widened and my smile increased even more. I flung myself at the man when he was within jumping distance and he caught me, spinning me around, laughter from both of us filling the shop. He set me down and looked at me. My shining brown-gray eyes locked with his kind violet ones. He was a strong built man, his figure defying his age. His hair was pulled into a pony-tail, gray starting to battle the deep chocolate color of his youth._

_His skin was weathered and browned from hard labor in the sun many years ago and his face told of many adventures to different places. He smiled at me, patting me on the head lightly before moving behind the counter. I trotted after him, my deep red and orange dress ruffling around my knees and skipped to the front of the counter, gripping the edge and pulling myself onto my tip toes, looking over at him. He was bent over, picking up a box no bigger than the length of his forearm and turning around and straightening up, placed it before me. _

_I grinned at him and stretched one arm out, my fingertips just barely grazing the corner of the box facing me, my 7-year-old body not yet long enough. I slumped, already tired from exerting energy on trying to grasp the box in my face. I fell back on my heels and crossing my arms over my chest, pouted at him. My lips trembled and my eyes widened, pleading with him to be kind and help me get the box. He chuckled, a soft sound that caused me to love him even more, and pushed the box a little closer to my side of the counter. I grinned once more and jumping as high as I could while grasping the edge, I succeeded in obtaining the magical box of wonders. _

_Lifting the box above my head, I did a little victory dance, waving the box as I lightly twirled while humming a song I had heard just a while ago. His laughter swelled as he watched me, clapping his hands and cheering me on. This went on for a good minute, the simplicity of the moment giving us a joy that was unexplainable._

_When I was done celebrating, I skipped over to a little stool, intricately designed with flowers and birds, and sat down; adjusting my dress and putting the box in my lap. I looked up at the man smiling and he did the same back, walking from behind the counter to stand by me. I trembled with increasing joy as my fingers deftly untied the simple deep indigo bow tied around it. Setting the silky bow beside me, I slowly gripped the edges and lifted the cover off. Beautiful, haunting music filled the shop; a hush seemed to bloom. My heart momentarily stopped from it and tears welled in my eyes as memories floated in my mind. _

_The music continued, telling a story of forlorn souls searching for a glimmer of hope to hold on to their lives. My body swayed to the melody as the man's voice gave the song words, softly intertwining with the notes and becoming one with it. The tears streamed down my face, my chest tightened with the intense feeling of the song, ghostly fingers caressed my skin sending chills through me. A void in my chest stretched and sobs rose, showing in action what I could not say in words._

_The tune hit a crescendo, the swelling reaching new heights, and a soft scream coming from my mouth pierced the air and then all was silent. My breathing was slightly off and I rocked myself back and forth, trying to steady my frantic heart. I blinked and looked up at the man by my side. He too had tears coming down his face, moved just as I was by the mood of the song coming from the little box in my lap. He squatted down to my level, reached a hand to my cheek, and wiped the dying tears from my face. A sniffle sounded and finally I smiled as I whispered one thing._

"_Beautiful." It truly was and setting the box down, I wrapped my arms around his neck, cuddling into the warm of his skin. He picked me up, cradling me to his chest and rocked me. I sigh as I lay against him, feelings of protection and affection causing me to thrum with overflowing warmth. When we both got our bearings back, he set me down on my feet and patted me again on the crown of my head with deepest affection._

_We both looked down at the box and I suddenly felt very sleepy. I leaned against his lean legs and sleepily looked up at him. My heart stopped as I looked into his face. A maniacal grin went across his face and eyes glimmered with malice intent. I tried to get away, to run from him, but I could not. I was stuck there against him, my eyes wide with fear. He bent down and roughly grabbed me. Only then did I do something. I struggled, screaming, pleading with him to let me go, to not hurt me. Fire flamed all around us as I screamed repeatedly for someone to help me. The flame scorched my skin causing me to cry in pain. He dropped me and began to laugh, sending numb chills through me. Whimpers filled me as I looked around. Everywhere I looked Death met my vision. Bodies hanging from windows and ropes, lifeblood spilt wherever my eyes went, faces with pure terror splayed before me. Loved ones torn to bits, not one person still intact. I put my hands up to cover my face when something wet slithered down them. Raising them up, I opened my mouth to scream again, but no sound came out. My hands were dyed crimson, tiny rivers of blood dripping down my skin. My hair was matted with the liquid and my dress was torn and bloodied as well. The wet, sticky substance traveled down my face and off my chin. I was among blood and death and there was no one to help me._

_A figure made its way towards me and as I watched it, my mind became blank. I was void and nothing was as it seemed. The figure stood before me and raising my eyes to its face, I merely stared. Dark hair tinted red from blood framed a face of pure horror. Sharp canines flashed from the grim smile given. A bloodied hand reached for me and as it neared, the figure whispered._

"_You shall be mine and all will fall to my feet. My Darling, My Love, My Death-Kissed Angel."_

_The fire engulfed me and I fell into the darkness, tainted, never to be pure again._

I shot up, my breathing ragged and terror flooding through my very soul. Tears came in endless rivers as I sobbed out loud. Detangling my self from the sweat soaked covers, I bolted for the door. Colliding into the wall, I crumpled onto the floor, wails rising in my chest, banging against my ribs, and tearing me from the inside out. I pushed my self off the floor and ran down the hall. Jumping down the platform in front of the shop, I slammed the door open and immediately was assaulted by the howling wind and hailing rain. I was drenched through even before I took another step from the shop. I was blinded by the pounding rain and thunder and lightening played their song for me. Another sob forced itself from my mouth and I ran. I did not know where I was going, but I knew that I had to run, run as far as I could.

My heart tried to beat its way out of my chest and I was losing the fight for air. A shooting pain rushed through my thighs, but I did not stop. Finally coming to a park, I could not go on, my body violently shaking from the cold and wet, the thin nightgown doing nothing to protect me, and I fell onto the grass. Sobs racked my body violently, my cries drowned by the thunder and rushing rain. I laid there; not caring that I could die from a severe cold or that anybody could have their way with me in my current state. All I could think was that I wanted to die, to escape this hell that would never let me go. I stopped crying, just letting my self be hit by the rain, pondering if I could drown via rain and grass suffocation.

My body became numb and sleep called to me, promising sweet release from the raging fire in my soul. I reached out to it, and with my last strength looked into the sky. Dark, murky gray clouds rolled across the sky, letting everyone know that more rain was to come. I smiled softly, wondering how it was that the sky could reflect my inner world with such precision.

Slowly I started to drift, wanting the dark to carry me from this hell-hole, but something kept me back. A small spark of life, unwilling to be extinguished, pleaded with me, fighting me to stay alive. In that moment, the rain stopped. I could still hear the heavy, unrelenting water hit the ground and I furrowed my brows, puzzled by this event. I vaguely felt someone lifting me up and weakly I cracked my eyes open. Golden eyes locked me in a trance. A deep scowl formed on the face of my unwanted savior and deepened even more when I weakly tried to make them let me go. My breathing was uneven, and I broke out into a fever. My vision faded, going in and out, and I tried to reach for the person's face. My clammy hand came in contact with chilled skin that was oddly comforting to me. I smiled softly and let my hand fall.

The person whispered something harshly under their breath and began making their way back to wherever it was I came from. I frowned as I tried to remember, my mind was sluggish and wispy. A rattling cough forced itself out and I shivered violently, my body surging with pain. Tears fell again and I softly sobbed. The person muttered a curse and sped up, the background becoming a blur to my slow vision. A coughing fit overtook me and I tried to curl in on myself, but the figure held me tight to their chest. The material of their clothing was rough to my sensitive skin and caused me to cry out. Gaining even more speed, they rushed on to what ever destination they were taking me.

A flash of lightening streaked through the sky and as I finally gave into the dark that was calling me, the person's face was briefly illuminated and I saw narrowed eyes and a frown set deep into the mouth of the person saving me. I sighed softly and drifted, and as I closed my eyes, I could have sworn I saw a curious color being revealed in their mouth when they opened it to mutter something again.

My body went slack and lulled against them. My last thoughts: '_They smell….like…open air…storms…and power…_'

And everything went black.

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So, what do you think? You guys should know the drill by now. Suggestions and comments are appreciated and will be taken into thought for future chapters. Please kindly review, it keeps me from shriviling up!! Thank you for reading and see ya next chapter! *bow* see the button...PUSH IT AND MAGICAL BANANAS WILL SING FOR YOU!!! lol


	5. Dangerious fire

Chapter 5

A/N: This is a forewarning- this chapter and the next few chapters will contain extremely dark themes such as rape, drug use, subtle mentions of torture, and other such subjects. If you are not of an appropriate age to read such topics or are not mature enough to handle them, are easily offended by such things, or are sensitive, please do not continue reading this fic. I sincerely thank you for reading this fic as far as it has been. As of now, the rating of this fic will be moved to the M rating. Again I thank all of you full-heartedly for reading my fic.

Disclaimer: I hold no ownership to the characters, just the plot and my own input characters. Please do not steal them. They are precious!!

A/N: So that there is no confusion, I will be switching POV's from time to time. I will alert everyone to this when this transition happens. Please enjoy!! ^^

Special thanks to Kitsu-chan (you know who you are!!) for keeping me inspired. Now on with the fic!!

* * *

I vaguely heard water in the distance and I felt the coolness seep into my body.

'_Never fall…'_

The whispered voice echoed, resounding off hollow walls. I struggled to get up, but my body refused to respond, the coldness locking me in place.

'_You must withstand…'_

The same voice came back, the tone seeming to slither across my body. A pulsing warmth came to life on my right side and flared all around me, seemingly caressing my frozen limbs. A weak sigh came from parched lips and a feeling deep within me spread.

'_Withstand the Darkness of your Soul…'_

Footsteps echoed softly from somewhere, seeming to come from everywhere, not having an originating point. A whimper worked itself out of me, a flaring pain shooting through my veins and into my entire being. Tears escaped my tightly closed eyelids, trailing down flushed cheeks and melding in with the coolness that surrounded me, fighting the warmth as both forces dragged me in the middle.

Fighting the darkness and numbness that held me captive, I finally opened my eyes, letting my self adjust to the dim lighting that caused blue and green spots to form and fade in front of me. The room I was in held bare walls and empty space. Blinking slowly, I twist my head to survey the rest of the room. It was the same. Only bare necessities were put in the room. A desk to the left of me, in the far corner, with a small bedside lamp and palm-size candles were the only source of light. Trembling, I lift my self up, my joints locking in place and cracking. Grimacing and muscles twitching, I make my way to the door on my right…only to find that it is locked. Fear and panic immediately seize me and a helpless cry bursts from my lips. Furiously banging my fist against the wooden door, I scream, hoping against all odds that someone will hear me and come to my aid. After sometime, I stop, turning around and putting my back against the door, sliding down it. Sobs rack my body and tears trail endlessly from my eyes. Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around them and let my head fall into the crooks of my arms. A soft sound makes me snap my head up, causing me to pop my neck. I cringe at the brief flare of pain and look around. Sight locking on a figure on the floor, my blood stops cold, my breathing goes erratic and a scream lodges itself in my throat. Tears gush faster, my head shaking from side to side, denial of what I am seeing blaring through me.

There I am…

On the floor…

My wrists bound with tight, coarse rope, causing my skin to break and blood to trickle. My previous clothing has been removed from me, replaced by a simple blue dress that ends mid-thigh. My face is turned away from me, but I do not want to see it…if the state of the rest of my body is any clue as to what it could look like.

Blue, purple, and green bruises cover my tan skin. Small cuts and welts stand out against my thighs and my arms have finger shaped bruises on them as well. My hair is matted, lying listlessly and limply around me. The dress is torn and ripped in various places, barely able to cover me whole, lest of all my private places. Deep, angry scratches in different varieties blister along my exposed sides and blood smears patches of my skin a deep crimson coloring.

Tears come back to my eyes as I take this sight of me in. A pounding sensation throbs in my skull, building up until my hands clutch at my scalp without my consent, nails digging in. Biting my lower lip hard enough for the skin to break and blood to ooze forth. A scream of disbelief and shame crawls up my throat, tearing at my insides.

Movement from the Me on the floor causes me to look up and brown meets a lighter shade of the same color. My eyes take in the image of my face. Dark bruises and swelling skin cause me to sob, and puffy eyes make my heart shudder painfully. Spilt lips dabbled in old blood whisper something to me. My vision is blurred by the stinging tears that are building up steadily. Shaking violently, I meekly make my way to the used Me. Once I am sitting beside her, I lean forward, close to her lips. Faint and whispery…fading and dead.

The abused Me's body suddenly goes in convulsions, blood starting to flow over her lips. Crying out, I grasp on to her, trying to keep her still…to keep her from dying…from leaving me alone.

After what seems like eternity, she stops. I cautiously move back to see her. Her chest is barely moving, but what little movement there is affirms that she is alive…barely.

Placing both my hands on either side of her face, I shift her head to face me. Sobs try to come out, but I force them down, along with the vomit that is fighting to be released from the sight. Pushing her mangled hair from her face, I stare into dull eyes. Building my self up, I ask the question that burns me alive.

"**Why?"**

She blinks slowly, a sardonic smile weakly forming on her bleeding lips, newly stained with fresh blood. Opening her mouth, more blood dribbling from the corners, she replies faintly.

"**Because He wants this…and what He wants…He shall take…no matter what."** After this she swiftly moves her head to the side, blood gushing out of her mouth. When her fit is over, she turns back to look at me. Weakly she moves her arms, a raspy cry escaping her mouth from the pain racking her body. Eyes widening, I deftly untie the rope, cradling her arms with tender care, shuddering from the multiple needle holes adorning the inside of her arms and crease of her elbows. Shifting us, I move to the closest wall, settling her between my legs, her upper body lying on my thighs. Cradling her head to my chest, I rock us back and forth, pleading with her not to leave me here, to hold on just a little while longer for help to get here. She only chuckles, reaching up to cup my left cheek. Smiling a blood-stained smile, she sighs, tucking loose tendrils of hair behind my ear. Grasping my shoulder with her other hand, she weakly lifts her self up, brushing her lips against my ear.

"**You must not let Him get you…You have to keep running. If you stop, He'll catch you…and everything you ever loved or knew will be dead. Run….keep running…leave from here…and do not…look…back." **Her soft voice rushes over my ear, leaving me shuddering from the truth and the fear. Her words resound in my head, replaying over and over again, never stopping.

With one last sigh, she slumped against me, her face buried in the crook of my neck and shoulder. Her heartbeat stuttered and slowly faded. My hands clutched at the torn material on her back, feeling whip marks imbedded in her skin. Faint sobs poured from my lips increasing until they were full throat-tearing screams. I cradled her body closer to me, screaming into her hair.

When I could no longer make a sound, my throat torn and my eyes dry from crying, I shifted her body; putting her in the same place I had seen her. When I had situated her body, I became aware of footsteps echoing from behind the door. Hollow, I stumble to the farthest wall, seeking out the darkest corner and sit down, numbly watching the door.

The door opened to reveal at least six figures, their outlines shifting and blurring by the flickering candle light. The figures all came into the room, the last closing the door immediately. Once everyone was inside, they circled around my body. Snickering and low murmurs filled the room. None of them moved until one figure, the one farthest to my right, stepped forward. Each figure was donned with a dark cloak and the one who moved shed his off. Rippling muscle under gleaming skin was revealed and snug black jeans fit neatly upon trim hips. Dark wavy hair floated over slim, strong shoulders and deep sensual eyes stared blazing at my practically nude form. Thin lips moved.

"**This time…" **cruel smirk **"I get to take her." **And with that statement, the man got to his knees, pushing limp legs apart to fit in between. Slim hands gripped thin material and tugged, tearing the rest from her chest. Hands roughly palmed full breast as his mouth worked hungrily at an exposed neck. A faint sound came from dry lips and my dull eyes slightly widened as I watched Me try weakly to fight him off. Faint pleas of resistance were heard and the other figures laughed as the man leaned up and swiftly back-handed her cheek. Her face now turned to my position, our eyes lock, tears reflecting off our faces as he spreads her legs wider, ordering two of the nearest figures to hold onto her ankles. Leaning back on his knees, the man unzips his pants, rigid cock revealed and already glistening with pre-cum.

Shifting forward, the head pressed against dry entrance, he thrust forward swiftly. Gritting his teeth, jaw clenching, he begins to pump in and out. My eyes unwillingly drift to the apex of her thighs, were their lower bodies meet. His manhood slides in and out deftly, despite no beforehand preparation. Cries come from my mouth as I see why.

Blood begins to pool from her entrance.

My eyes lock back to hers. The grunts from the man's throat fade as do the laughter and jibs of the rest of the figures. It's just her and I. My lips tremble and my mouth opens…but nothing comes out.

She only smiles softly, slowly shaking her head. She limply lifts a hand and presses a finger to her lips, a soft breath of air passing from her lips.

"**Sleep little one…sleep and live."** She coos to me, reaching out to me.

My tears run in steady streams as my eyes start to close, the image of her death-lulled eyes burning into my brain. Darkness filled my vision and the rushing of my pulsing blood beat a rhythm of odd comfort through my soul, dragging me deeper into the encasing abyss beneath me. My hand reaches toward her weakly, then limply falls into my lap, my head falling to the side, eyes sealing shut, and a wail of crashing grief surging forth, echoing into the darkness of my Hell.

* * *

Eyes snapping open, I gasp in cool fresh air, letting a shiver run down my spine and my body. Whimpers spilling forth, I curl into my self, trying to get away from the nightmare that shook my spirit.

A low-keening sound vibrates in my ear and a rough wet, yet warm tongue glides across my exposed cheek. Jolting up, I come face to face with a massive head, blazing ice blue eyes holding me captive. Massive canines reveal themselves and a snarl resounds in my head, shaking me to my very core. The world begins to spin and my chest feels as if an extremely heavy weight has been placed on it. My breathing becomes more labored, sweat breaking out across my skin, and everything hurts.

The beast before me whines again, moving so that it curls its warmth around me, shielding me from the biting cold that tries to engulf me in misery. I lift my lips in a weak smile, portraying the appreciation that I can not show in my current state. An answering purr confirms acceptance of my silent thank you.

A deep vibration shifts through me and my eyes immediately close from the warmth that flows from the giving body around me. A weary sigh escapes my lips and the world begins to go black. The beast suddenly shifts, a warning growl slipping through a tense body as it goes into a defensive stance, warning whatever has come in its sight to stay away. A soft probing presence coolly caresses my mind, soothing the churning turmoil in my thoughts.

Another whimper works its way into the open from me. The beast ceases its growls, lowering its head and nuzzling me in silent comfort. My hand glides in its thick smooth fur, fisting into it, my other hand doing the same on the other side. I slowly pull my self up using its mass to steady my wobbling body. The world tilts dangerously to the side and then rights itself. Slumping into the vibrating body, I look up, seeking out whatever is making my warmth upset and when I do locate it, I gasp, stumbling more into the protective body that shields me.

"**We were looking everywhere for you Arena-san. You gave us a good scare, running off like that in the rain."** The cheerful voice of the hat man assaulted my hearing, making me whimper in pain.

The busty girl took a tentative step forward, only to backtrack when another threatening snarl come from the beast. Everyone tensed, preparing for any sudden attacks from the beast, when a muscle ripping pain ripples through me. An echoing scream rips out of my throat as I fling my self onto the cool ground, grasping at my chest and scratching my neck. A burning fire ravages my insides and I scream again.

I hear my name being screamed by the girl who I had started to become affectionate towards, and with tears flooding down my cheeks, I cry out. My body convulses, lifting off the ground only to slam back into the ground again. I struggle to bring air into my lungs, the fire burning me from the inside-out. The world began to spin, colors mixing into one another and then it went dark.

(a/n: From here it will be third person limited ^^)

Orihime gasped as she watched Arena's body convulse and then go still. Her gray eyes widening even further when the body twitched several times afterward and then went completely still. She screamed her name several times, hoping to get a response from the young woman who had been haunting her dreams ever since she collapsed in front of her school.

She let her gaze go over her friends' faces and with each gaze met, a decision formed between all of them.

Urahara looked intensely at the limp body that was being protected by the beast before them. Tilting his hat so that it covered his eyes, he recounted what had just happened. The immense amount of raw spiritual that surged forth from this one tiny slip of a girl actually caused him to break out in a sweat. He looked to see everyone else also catching their breath.

Everyone looked at one another and decision made, turned their attention back to the small body being engulfed among fur and muscle. The beast had long ago stopped snarling and merely watched them with lazy amusement.

Orihime took a cautious step, maintaining eye contact with the gigantic feline looking beast. Cool ice-blue eyes held her as she took another step. Letting out a jarring yawn, the beast eyed them all and then settled down, putting its body around the girl and placing its head on its forepaws.

Orihime was getting ready to take another step when she was stopped by Yoruichi. Surprised eyes met curious ones. The silent conversation between the two women was broken when Renji decided he had had enough.

"**Just what the HELL was that and what the hell is that thing?"**He growled out, frustrated with the situation. Chad put a hand on a tense shoulder, warning Renji that he should not let his emotions get the best of him. Sighing, Renji glanced over at Urahara.

A sudden movement by Yoruichi made all of them start. A smirk had appeared on her face and shoulders shaking, she finally let loose the laughter that had been building up, ever since she saw the giant feline in front of them.

Glancing at Urahara, she tilted her head and facing the feline, called out to it.

"**Never thought I would see YOU again eh, Chiyoko-dono?"**Yoruichi grinned, shifting and crossing her arms over her chest. Everyone looked at Yoruichi, silently questioning who she was talking to. A rumbling sound resounded through the clearing they were in and a deep voice answered back, startling them all minus Yoruichi and Urahara.

"**It has been awhile, has it not?"** Another deep chuckle vibrated through the clearing. The feline's eyes were alight with deep amusement. Gracefully lifting up from its resting spot unto its haunches, it moved to the side, slightly standing over the motionless body. Leaning its head down, it nuzzled Arena's side, positioning her into a position that was a bit more comfortable.

The slight frown that had marred her features smoothed itself out, leaving a content expression and a sigh to come forth.

Lifting back up to lock eyes with Yoruichi, the feline stretched and shifting into a comfortable position, spoke.

"**You know of whom this girl is, correct?" **The feline asked, a serious tone coloring the words. A nod from Yoruichi answered the question.

"**Then you understand the seriousness of the situation?", **was the next answer.

Again, another nod.

"**Then everything has been set for her?"**

"**Yes, I have everything setup for her protection."**

"**Good, then all that is left to do is wait. He is coming and this will not be easy. We must not let Him get her."**

"**It is understood."**

A nod from the great feline ended the conversation. Standing on all fours, it carefully arranged the girl, lifting her in its jaws and walking towards them. It bypassed Yoruichi and stopped in front of Chad. Lowering its head, it deposited its load in his arms and sat before him.

"**You feel you know this girl, especially after her second fainting episode. You just do not know how. I will tell you now," **at this the feline looks at them all, **"She will need all of your strength. Darkness comes for her and her Path has many directions. Help her in any way that you can."**

Glancing once more at every person and nodding at Chad and Yoruichi, the feline turned and bounded away into the surrounding forest, immediately blending in with the foliage.

Silence pressed around them. Once everything was processed by all, Rukia, who had been quiet since the beginning, turned to Yoruichi.

"**What is going on? Why is this girl so important and who exactly was that?" **She voiced out the most pressing questions that were at the forefront of everyone's mind. Yoruichi and Urahara shared a quick glance and nodding, looked back at everyone.

"**We will tell as much as we can, as soon as she awakens."**Yoruichi stated.

Heads nodded and expressions turned more somber as eyes settled on the girl nestled within Chad's arms, appearing smaller and more fragile then before. A deep foreboding feeling settled within everyone's thoughts and stomachs, each one knowing that things were getting ready to change…whether for worse or more was yet to be seen.

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Well, what do ya think?!??!! I will try to worm Arena's past a little more into the story, but not too fast that it will ruin the surprise! As I said in the author note above, the next couple of chapters will be extremely dark, since I am testing the waters to say the lest. Please review!! The dying seal pups need them to survive!! LOL


	6. CONTEST! WEEE!

Bleach Contest

Okay, so I have finally thought of how I will do this contest!! YAY!!!!

Anyone who can figure out these riddles will get the choice of a) getting themselves input into the story or b) setting up the next chapter in whatever way they wish it, as long as it includes some violence.

So are we ready!?! Then let's get going!!

Riddle 1- I am the one thing that you fear and want. I twist your dreams to death and I make them beautiful. You wish me to die and help you live. Who am I?

Riddle 2- The sea swells around me, lost and sought after. The sky will never touch me and my mystery never shown. Many have long to find me, but all fail. Watery touches are desired, yet taken away. What am I?

If anyone can figure these riddles out, you may choose one of the prizes above. Good luck!!


	7. Chapter 7

ohayo minna-san!! I would first like to apologize for taking such an extended break from this story. Many real-life changes were occuring and I merely did not have the time to write or update. Please forgive me *bow* Well as you all know I had a little contest and our winner is Silver Kitsune Lunara!!*cheers* If you did not get a chance to participate, don't worry! I just might host another one later on. Now without further ado, the next chapter!!

A/N Just a warning, this chapter will not be centered completely around Arena. She will come back later on,promise! This chapter is also not dark, so you can breathe easy. If I make some characters a bit OOC, forgive me. It was not intended. With that out of the way, enjoy!

'.IT!!!! If I did Hichigo and Ichigo would be strapped to my bed...... in my room........under the covers........with the lights turned.......with me in the middle.....close to them........LOOKING AT MY SPANKY NEW GLOW-IN-THE-DARK EASY BAKE OVEN!!lol, fooled you..............pervs....

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Murmurs could be heard thrumming around the room, the serious tone reflecting the combination of anxiety, anxiousness, fear, and high tension coiling and churning inside each person situated in the room. A sudden noise halts the various conversations flowing around the area and all eyes lock on the figure lying on the futon in the center.

Orihime was the first to react, stretching her hand out to lightly brush against damp strands of dark hair. A concerned frown appears on her face and teeth nibble furiously and distractedly at her bottom lip. Scooting up towards the limp figure, she gently strokes her fingers repeatedly through the soaked tresses, shifting the now warm towel laid across the burning forehead. A gasp swiftly escapes her mouth when her fingers come in contact with the burning flesh and a whimper comes from cracked lips, the figure subconsciously trying to maintain the contact with her cool flesh by turning weakly to the side she is on. Orihime grabs the towel, submerging it in the bowl near the head of the futon and wringing it out, places it back on the flushed forehead. Jerking and releasing a low keening sound, the figure weakly shakes its head from side to side, moaning lowly.

Tears form in Orihime's eyes at the pathetic sight and she twists her head to the side, closing her eyes to try and rid her self of the broken image. She moves herself back to her original position and lays her head on her arms. Urahara and Yoruichi glance at each other and nod, coming to a silent agreement on their own discussion. Clearing her throat to gain everyone's attention, Yoruichi swiftly makes eye contact with everyone before beginning, resting her eyes on the subject of the conversation.

**"You all are no doubt wondering just who she really is, ne?"** Nods show affirmation on this stated fact. Nodding her self, Yoruichi proceeded on.

**"While I can't disclose everything until she has awoken and regained some of her energy, I will tell as much as I can. But before I begin to explain what few things I can, can anyone tell me of any strange things that happened since she has been involved or that you noticed of her during any time?"** Golden eyes took in the various expressions fleeting on everyone's faces. Ishida was the first to raise his hand and at a nod from Yoruichi, explained.

**"I did feel an enormous burst of spiritual pressure shortly before our run-in with Arena-san at the school. I thought it quite a coincidence that she should be around when that happened. Also that a violent storm such as the one last night should occur when she was allowed to rest and ran off from the shop that very night."** Ishida glanced at everyone, finished with explaining his observation to the group. Furrowing her brows and briefly analyzing his explanation, Yoruichi nodded, storing the information for later review.

Orihime looked at Arena's shuddering figure and again reached out towards her, this time encasing a flushed hand and entwining their fingers together. Closing her eyes and going through her memories, Orihime quickly opened her eyes, twisting her head to face Yoruichi and spoke urgently, yet addressing everyone at the same time. **"Did anyone notice that Arena-kun's eyes change colors…or specifically darken or lighten at certain times?"** Eyes shifting to gauge the groups' reaction to this question, Orihime quietly swallowed and tensed. Each individual went over this question gravely in their minds, sifting through their memories, going back to the first encounter with the enigma of a girl before them. Shocked expressions settled on each face as they saw what Orihime was speaking of.

Chad was the first to respond, his deep baritone voice resounding in the room.** "I also noticed something. It seems that whenever we question her, she tends to lean more towards her left side, more so covering her hip. Why would she be worried about us going for her hip? Also she tends to look at the walls, as if searching for something. Why would she do that?"** Voicing these questions out loud, Chad fell back into meditative silence, searching for the elusive answers he so desperately sought.

The tension in the room deepened as minds pondered over the various questions and statements, dissecting each and going over them repeatedly. Urahara, who had been extremely still and silent since the beginning, raised his head and surveyed the frustrated group before him. Opening his mouth, he started to speak when a thundering scream ripped through the room. Gasps of surprise and startled yelps followed as another scream resounded in the room.

Eyes snapped to the violently convulsing figure and shouts were heard as Arena's body was lifted from the bedding, her limp appendages dangling and locking up repeatedly, and abruptly slammed back with a force that shook the floor beneath. Screams tore from her mouth repeatedly as her left hand jerked up to her chest, nails sinking into the thin pristine white yukata that adorned her body, gripping and tugging at the flesh until faint pink spots began to form where the nails dug in, rapidly darkening to a crimson the more she applied pressure. Her chest arched off the futon, pressing her left hand more into the center of her chest, causing more blood to spread across the blemished yukata. Another scream raged through the air, though not from Arena, but from Orihime.

Tears spilled over the sides of her cheeks as Orihime tugged furiously at Arena's right wrist with her free left hand, trying to get her to release her crushing grip. Bodies jumped up to assist her, Ishida reaching first. Wrapping his hand around Arena's wrist as well and putting his other on Orihime's tensed forearm, he tugged hard managing to loosen her bruising grip on Orihime's trapped hand. Both tugged, attempting to use their combined strength to wrench the rest of Orihime's hand from Arena's grip as Chad, Renji, and Ichigo used their weight to hold down the rest of her writhing body. Chad grabbed her kicking and thrashing legs, Renji snatched her left hand away from her chest, keeping her from inflicting more damage to her already battered and just healing body. Ichigo pressed his hands on her shoulders, firmly keeping her to the surface, yet being gentle so he did not cause further harm. Arena's head shook from side to side, throwing off the dry towel and screamed again, tears flowing off her face and soaking the rumpled linen beneath her.

A howl of dying pain wrenched itself out her mouth, sending chills down everyone's spines and freezing their blood. Simultaneously, deep gashes appeared on her body, blood trickling from the wounds. Screams once again filled the air, her body thrashing, fighting against the restraints that were Chad's, Renji's, and Ichigo's hands. Bruises started to cover her skin and her lip began to bleed, a cut adorning it. Commands were shouted out as Yoruichi jumped up and grabbed a syringe near her, already filled with an amber liquid. Urahara barked for Tessai to acquire bandages, bowls of warm water, and healing salve. Tessai did as he was commanded, gathering the various items and depositing them near Urahara. Urahara then called Ururu and Jinta to the room. Both came in and looked at Urahara, trying hard not to stare at the scene that was rapidly unfolding before them. Urahara requested that they close the shop and put up barriers around the grounds. Both nodded and went off to perform the tasks assigned to them. Urahara then looked back to the struggle in front of him.

Yoruichi was straddling Arena's waist, shouting for them to hold her still. Chad, Renji, and Ichigo all slightly increased their weight on the appendages in their grasp. Yoruichi pushed part of the yukata off Arena's left shoulder, pushing the plunger of the syringe to squirt some of the liquid out, and swiftly and accurately, drove the needle into her twitching skin, pushing through muscle and injecting the liquid into her bloodstream. Another scream was cried out and all movement stopped. Arena slumped to bed, her body going completely lack and sighs of relief were released. Ishida gently pulled Orihime's hand from Arena's limp hand, massaging the bruised and swelling flesh.

Heavy breathing filled the room, the dwindling rush of adrenaline starting to leave them fatigued. Everyone looked at the limp body in the middle. Chad released her legs, arranging them into a more comfortable position and pulled the discarded sheet up them. Renji also let go of the appendage in his grasp, his eyes falling on the bloody spots on her yukata and on her hands, the liquid running warm down her sides and soiling the sheets. He placed her arm across her waist and tugged the sheet up to cover the sight. A shuddering gasp caused eyes to go to her, but upon discovering that it was not she who made the sound, drifted to Ichigo who had not released her shoulders yet. Sweat trickled down his face, his eyes wide and mouth gaping, drawing in ragged puffs of air. Gulping air into his body greedily, Ichigo felt a shiver pass over him, the adrenaline starting to leave his body. Glancing down at the death-like body, Ichigo slowly raised his eyes, locking sight with Yoruichi and blacked out, slumping next to Arena's still body. Shouts of concern and **"ICHIGO!!"** were voiced, Chad and Renji rushing to his side, flipping him onto his back and calling out his name repeatedly, shaking him to rouse a response from the youth.

At the same time, a sob and cough passed out of Arena's mouth, a small trickle of blood slipping down the side of her mouth. Yoruichi immediately pressed her right hand to Arena's chest, a blue glow emitting around it. Speaking words in a quiet and fast tone, Yoruichi pressed firmly on her chest, her spiritual energy slowly mounting. After awhile, a light sheen of sweat coating her face and her breath coming in slight pants, Yoruichi lifted her hand from Arena's chest and sat down against the wall, gaining her breath back. She looked over to where everyone fretted over Ichigo's unresponsive body. Urahara silently moved over to Arena, arranging the material in the order he wanted them in. Grabbing a submerged towel, he began his work. Wiping the now drying blood from her mouth and throat, gently patting around the areas that were too tender to be directly pushed on, he went over what had just transpired right in front of him. Making a quick and brief conclusion just as he placed the crimson towel into the bowl, he addressed the frantic group.

**"Minna-san, what I am about to tell you is merely a hunch, but I would like for you to listen none-the-less. Is everyone okay with that?"** He glanced over at the worried group of friends, making sure that they were paying attention to what he had to say. Eyes were locked on his person and glancing warily at the damaged body being tended to. A sigh passed from thin lips as Urahara continued to wipe at the blood coating bruised skin, making sure to be careful at particularly nasty looking wounds. Once he cleaned as much as he could without dishonoring the young woman's virtue, he picked up the healing salve and uncapping the jar began applying it to the broken skin. He let the words flow from his mouth, while continuing to tend to Arena.

**"What if Arena-san was so psychological damaged that not only was her mind completely destroyed, but her soul was obliterated as well? What if this caused a serious disruption around everything that she came in contact with? Completely changed her from how she was? What if this also caused her to achieve such a massive amount of unbridled raw power that she could destroy cities if she so chose to?"** Eyes widened at these prospects, defenses immediately going up.

Urahara recapped the jar and picked up the roll of bandages, looking up at Yoruichi to come and help him. Yoruichi nodded and moved, placing her self beside Arena and shifting her body carefully on to her lap. Both worked diligently, bandaging the most serious wounds first, before attending to the others. Once finished, Yoruichi began placing Arena back before catching sight of the blood staining the sheets. Shifting over to her original spot, she arranged Arena into a comfortable position in her lap, resting her head in the crook of her shoulder and began rocking her gently.

Silence captured the room as everyone took in this scene, random thoughts fleeting before all attention settled back on Urahara. Readjusting his self, he looked up meeting their stares. He continued his speculation, his brows furrowing in strict concentration. He plowed on **"What if someone became aware of this and tried to reign in her unstable power, only destroying her more for a extensive amount of time? What do you think could potentially happen, say in a few months?"** This question hung in the air, the hidden meaning poised clearly understood to every person. Just as he was about to continue, a low groan was heard from a certain strawberry. Everyone watched as he pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head and squinting. After letting his sight readjust to the light, he blinked a couple of times and looked at everyone, his trademark scowl shifting back into place.

**"What happened?"** Ichigo asked, trying to remember what he did last. Flashes of the struggle and the following events passed in his mind and placing his sight on the limp body encased by Yoruichi, he frowned.

Urahara started again, but was once again interrupted when Arena snapped her eyes open and flung her self up, gripping Yoruichi's shoulder in a vice grip. Sweat dripped off her face and her eyes widened, looking frantically around the room. She muttered under her breath in a strained tone, licking her lips and suddenly flinging her self out of the warm lap, scrambling for the door. Yoruichi immediately restrained her, once again straddling her waist and pinning her arms above her head, being as gentle she could without breaking her grip on her arms. Furious yells and snarls rose from Arena's throat, trying to free her self from Yoruichi's grasp. Angry tears tracked down her face as she howled for her release. Those screams dwindled into pleas and soon turned into weak whimpers. Tensed muscles soon went limp again as the last of her strength gave out. A small sob was let loose one last time as Arena slumped against the floor, looking up into cautious eyes. Her eyelids closed, opened then closed again, fluttering against tear-stained skin, finally giving her self over to the calling darkness of slumber. Coiled bodies relaxed slightly, observing the way she gulped in air, her breathing regulating out. Sighs of relief were passed in the air when Yoruichi lifted off the slumped body, picking her up and cradling her.

Her mouth moved wordlessly, air passing over cracked lips. Arena blurrily opened her eyes again, fighting the call to sleep. She looked up into worried eyes and faintly grabbing what material she could reach, she weakly pulled. She worked hard to tell them, to warn them. She had to tell them before they were destroyed as well, burned along with everything else that she had tried to protect and failed.

Finally, at the last second, words faintly formed causing those golden eyes to widen and glance over at Urahara. Her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp, finally losing the tiring battle to stay conscious.

Yoruichi stared down at the broken body in her arms in wonderment and concern. Looking up at everyone, she repeated what Arena had said.

**"Time is drawing close….you must choose….will you let it burn?....or will you let me go?"**

TA DAAAAAHHH!!!! A little choppy, I know, but good enough to start with. Reviews and suggestions are once again welcomed!! Until next time!!

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	8. Burning Pressure

Alright!! So here it is. After my long absense and lack of inspiration for the next few chapters, I finally have finished it. And just because I love you all sooooo much, I'll do something special for ya! I won't just up date one chapter...but TWO!!! HA HA!! Yes, because of how I'm doing the next couple of chapters with my lil contest winner, it's going to take me a while to up date again. So the extra chapter is just to tie you all over until I update again. Until then, expect one-shots from me on occasion when I need to get the blood pumping. So let's get this parteh started!! woot woot!

Disclaimer:...*glares* I'm not even going to say it again. You know by NOW!! *whimpers and sobs* Not mine!!

A/N: These chapters might be a bit shorter than expected, but meh..work with what ya got!! Now onward!!

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Days had passed since that soul shaking incident at the Urahara-shoten. Everyday afterward, the group would gather at the shop that held the most recent and by far the most confusing and tiring mystery that they had ever encountered. At times, days were spent merely observing the slowly healing girl, taking in every shudder and whimper that would pass through her lips. Others were spent discussing and contemplating just what could be happening. Orihime had gotten over the incident of her hand and continued to take post by Arena, taking the hand that was by her and rubbing soothing circles over the tepid skin with her thumb. Ishida made sure that he was in reach of Orihime should another relapse come about.

Every mind in that room went over what had occurred and the previous encounters with the girl on the futon. Yoruichi and Urahara shared what information they could with the group and the information that was shared was only the beginning of the shocking truth that they would know later. Yoruichi had disclosed to them that Arena was more than human as could be noted by her flashing spiritual pressure. She told them that she was of a mixture, but that Arena her self would have to tell them what she was mixed with. Heads nodded wearily at the facts given to them. Urahara had then shared with them that since Arena could not very well continue to stay at the shop, that she would be admitted to the school so that she could be watched during the day. Also that Soul Society would be sending down a group to help with this until all things could be told.

When Urahara told of the people he knew for sure would be coming, various reactions were made. Orihime and Rukia smiled and began plotting, Chad, Renji, and Ishida merely nodded, and Ichigo groaned and muttered under his breath darkly. Hiding the majority of his face behind his beloved fan, Urahara chuckled then looked at the resting figure who had thrust them all into this.

Sweat lightly sprinkled her forehead and her breath came in shallow low pants. Her fingers would clutch the sheets across her waist tightly and then loosen. Eyelids fluttered minutely and incoherent words whispered in the air, too low and soft for anyone to hear. Days continued to pass without incident. Everyone went to school, though assignments and class occurrences were the furtherest things from everyone's minds. The next day when everyone had gathered, they immediately knew something had changed and cautiously made their way into the shop. Yoruichi, Urahara, and Tessai were seated, each looking solemn and contemplative. When they became aware of the group's arrival, their eyes rested on them and everyone knew that something seriously wrong had occurred since they last met.

**"Arena is awake…but barely."** Yoruichi whispered, her eyes moving to stop at the table the three surrounded.

Orihime let a sigh of immense relief slip out and put a hand to her chest. Blinking her gray eyes, she trained them on the dark-skinned woman that had delivered the news that she had so desperately wanted to hear for weeks now.

**"Can we…go and see her now?"** She inquired softly, her voice trembling with excitement that the young woman that had surrounded her thoughts was finely awake.

Yoruichi glanced at Urahara, who nodded, and then looked at Orihime. **"You can…but she isn't responsive as of yet."**

**"What do you mean by "unresponsive", Yoruichi-sama?"** Chad replied his muscles tensed.

Sighing, she repositioned herself and then explained.

**"This morning, Kisuke and I both went to check on her to see if anything had changed during the night. We found her lying there as usual, but her eyes were open. We sat by her and tried to get her to talk. She did nothing except blink and stare at the ceiling. We then sat her up and gave her some water to drink, but she wouldn't touch it and made no move to remove from her person. I had to maneuver her to drink it. We carried on as we usually did, changing her bandages and making her comfortable. During that whole process, she never made any objections to us moving her and she never spoke. It was like she was nothing but a doll, completely lax and empty. When we finished, I sat by her and continued to try to get her talk for about an hour. She just sat, still in the position we put her in, and stared. Nothing we did got a response of any kind from her."** Yoruichi sighed again. **"So you can try talking to her, but I highly doubt that you will achieve much except more staring and silence."**

The group eyed each other doubtfully and then nodded, expressing their want to see her. Urahara got up and made his way to the room that held her. They also made their way to follow, but were stopped by Yoruichi. When asked why, she merely said,** "So that Urahara can prepare her for your arrival. We have been the only people that she has seen awake and we don't want her to be startled lest we have a relapse or something more dangerous."** When Urahara appeared and nodded, Yoruichi let them pass and followed as well.

The mix-matched group entered the eerily quiet room and sat in their seats. Renji and Chad sat on her left while Urahara and Yoruichi sat in front of her. Rukia positioned herself beside Yoruichi's left, while Orihime and Ichigo sat on her right. Orihime slowly took her hand as was her custom and kept the limp appendage there for the rest of their stay. The room regained its silence once everyone was situated and attention was focused on Arena.

Orihime cleared her throat and gave the first attempt. **"Arena-san….Arena-san, can you hear me?"** She spoke softly, not wanting to startle the woman, but as expected, she received no response. She rubbed the hand she held, trying to coax any reaction, but failed. Renji tried next since he was the one that had gotten the strongest reaction from her all those weeks ago during their first meeting.

**"Oi, onna! Say something, don't just sit there and stare. We're talking to you."** He spoke gruffly, trying to rouse her anger…or anything that he could get. Still nothing that he said gave him what they needed.

**"Arena-san, could you please say something to us, so that we can at least know that you are okay?"** Chad tried next, thinking that if he asked directly instead of trying to provoke her that it might work. There was a twitch of her left hand and an extra blink, but other than that nothing.

Each person gave their attempts afterward, but still nothing, only blank dead stares and soft breathing. An aggravated sigh from Ichigo after Ishida had tried after him caught everyone's attention. His knuckles were death white from him clutching his hands so tight upon his knees and the continuous twitch of his left eyebrow told of the explosion that was sure to come. But to the immense surprise of everyone, Ichigo merely sighed and locked his gaze on Arena. He made a noise in the back of his throat and looked at the figures in front. **"That beast said that Chad had a pretty good connection to her right?"** He spoke finally causing eyebrows to rise. Yoruichi and Urahara both looked at each other and then nodded.

**"Then wouldn't it make sense that Chad stands a better chance at getting to her than any of us?"** Ichigo pondered out loud, an idea starting to grow in his mind. The others nodded and with his tentative plan slightly finished, Ichigo stood up. Looking at everyone, he asked **"Do you all remember when we first took her to my house?"** Nods answered him. **"Do you remember that it was when she looked over at Chad that she fainted and that wound at her abdomen started to bleed again, did any of you hear what she said before she blacked out?"** Eyebrows furrowed at this question and minds raced to remember the incident. Rukia gasped and looked up at Ichigo. **"She said, "No…can't be him," if I remember right."** Ichigo nodded and then looked at Chad. **"I'm thinking that if Chad can some how get her to recognize him again, then we might have a chance of finding out some stuff."** Murmurs of approval swelled and died. Urahara grinned and opened his fan again. **"Well well, Kurosaki-kun, who knew that you could be so intuitive when you need to be!!! This is a grand day for us all!!!"** He exclaimed…and barely missed the cup that sped for his head. Ichigo mumbled about 'baka shop-keepers' and was about to say something when a commotion at the front of the store made them all jump to their feet and head that way. Orihime stayed back, opting for staying with Arena in case something happened.

The group made their way to the front and stopped. There in front of them was Jinta trying to hit somebody with his broom and Tessai tackling the poor kid to the ground. A yell of anger came and that is when the identity of the figure and those behind him came to light. Gasps of all kinds came as the names of the people were shouted out.

**"Ikkaku, Yumichika, Matsumoto, Toushiro, and Shuuhei- san!!!!"** The various reactions of the now identified individuals resounded. Ikkaku with his grin and boken in hand, Yumichika with his comment that yelling was not at all beautiful, Matsumoto giggled and waved at her friends and Toushiro glared with his indignant squawk of **"That's Hitsugaya-taichou!".** The last person, Hisagi, merely nodded and observed all around him as he had never been to this place before and was currently thinking why Yamamoto-soutaichou had requested he also go with the crazed group. Ichigo and he nodded at each other, as they had sparred once or twice during Ichigo's random visits to Soul Society and now knew each other as well as expected. Introductions and explanations were shared and all went to one of the more spacious rooms in the shop. When everything quieted down, Hitsugaya briefed everyone on why they were here, telling of how Yamamoto-soutaichou and Mayuri-taichou had become interested in what was going on with Arena. To make sure that nothing bad came out of her appearance, they had been chosen, since the majority of them had been there before quite a number of times, and told to watch her for a while. Just to get a feel of what problem she could possibly pose to the Soul Society and observe how she interacted with others. When Rukia asked how they knew of Arena's existence, Hisagi answered that it was her monstrous surge of spiritual energy that had flared briefly and Mayuri-taichou had sensed it with the radars that he had.

With that being said, Urahara and Yoruichi both told of everything that had happened from the first run-in at the school to her attack during her stay at the shop to her current state, with interjections from the others. Hitsugaya nodded, keeping note of what was said and storing it for later review. Matsumoto squealed at the prospect of finding a new friend, much to Hitsugaya's ire, and Ikkaku grinned at the thought of someone having enough spiritual energy that could possible rival Ichigo's, as unimaginable as it may seem. Yumichika commented that as long as she was beautiful then they would get along great and Hisagi did the same as Hitsugaya, storing notes of what had been told as well as looking at the shop and the people around the room. Most of them he had met and liked well enough while others he was introduced to and told of how they contributed to the shop. Yoruichi opened her mouth to speak when Orihime's call for them rang through the rooms. Everyone was out the door before her call could stop and they arrived just in time to see Orihime lean over Arena's convulsing body and try to restrain her by herself. Ishida moved Orihime and the same people took over, except that Chad and Renji had switched positions with Renji holding her legs and Chad holding down her arms. Ichigo kept a steady pressure on her shoulders and biceps, opting to press her up into his chest and steadied her thrashing head by crossing his arms tightly around her upper half and maneuvering her head into the crook of his neck. Though mindful of her open mouth lest she bite him in her fit. Her hair swished sharply in the air, letting off a soft scent in the room that made Orihime think of fresh rain and thick summer nights.

Wide eyes took in the scene as the new arrivals witnessed first hand what had been shared just a few moments ago. A shrill scream erupted from her mouth and suddenly, before anyone could brace themselves, a bone-cracking pressure crushed the room. Orihime, Rukia, and Ishida were pinned to the floor as the pressure continued to press against them, a heavy sweat breaking out over everyone. Renji, Chad, and Ichigo gritted their teeth together as they fought to stay upright, pants starting to rattle in the room. Urahara, Yoruichi and the newly arrived members pressed against near-by walls and also tried to keep upright. The pressure increased along with Arena's blood-chilling screams and screams from the surrounding people joined in. Clothes became soaked with sweat in minutes and eyes widened, the sheer force of the pressure causing them to gasp and pant for air as their chests felt caved in. Bones and joints cracked and popped and skin felt taunt, too burned and too raw for anyone to do anything. Hitsugaya, Urahara and Ichigo all squinted at one another, as difficult as it was with the sweat steadily pouring down their faces and into their eyes and nodded. Each began to let their spiritual energy mount, trying to combat the squeezing pressure and Ichigo let out a roar as his bursted forward, causing the air to crackle with raw power and slight electricity to shock people. The pressure fought back, trying to push Ichigo's into submission. Everyone knew that if this didn't stop soon, some of them wouldn't be able to handle the pressure for much longer and would black-out, the pressure crushing their chest and they could very well die from the sheer force. Ichigo shut his eyes, trying to focus on pulling more of his never-ending energy out and not the burning that surrounded him or the sweat that seemed to leave trails of fire across his skin.

Arena's screams reached levels of insanity as electricity clashed. As both pressures fought, finally with Hitsugaya's and Urahara's spiritual energy as well, the pressure decreased and soon disappeared. Numerous gasps and sobs for air resounded in the room and each person collapsed to the floor, either in the room or in the hallway. After several minutes of gulping air greedily into their lungs and shakily getting into a more comfortable position, when their bodies allowed them, they all stared at each other and then at the limp lifeless body that had caused it. Ichigo shakily placed her down and Chad and Renji flung themselves from her, grabbing at their chests and still gathering as much air as possible. Ichigo's heavy panting barely moved the soaked locks of hair and he braced his hands on either side of her. Getting a semblance of breathing back, he wiped the dripping sweat from his face and neck and then looked at the girl below him. Her eyes were blank, her skin an ashen color and as he looked on, his eyes widened before he pressed his ear to her chest and gasped.

**"SHE ISN'T BREATHING!!"** Ichigo rasped out, pushing his body to move to her side and begin what CPR he knew. Yoruichi staggered into the room and dropped to her other side, helping Ichigo as they tried to bring back her breathing. Orihime started to sob and Rukia held her hand, softly murmuring that she would be okay and that Ichigo and Yoruichi would revive her. Everyone else looked at that the scene and stayed silent, hoping that they had not just suffered that for nothing.

After about five minutes of trying, both Ichigo and Yoruichi stared at the lifeless body, no sound coming from her. Yoruichi moved away and looked at Urahara, whose eyes couldn't be seen from the way his head was tilted. Ichigo murmured under his breath and kept pushing on her chest, leaning down to see if she was responding. Suddenly, he cursed loudly and pressed hard, whispering for her to wake up so he could kick her ass for putting them through what they had. The dead eyes suddenly widened and the body jerked a couple of times, strangled noises coming from the mouth. The scream started off soft, barely there…dead. Then it rose in volume, the rattling sound becoming stronger, until another full-blown scream charged through the air. Her body lifted up and then slumped to the ground again, her head lolling to her left side and she surrendered to the encasing darkness of her mind. Spurts of blood came from her now opened wounds and her newly clean yukata become a burning crimson again. Tessai shakily came in when Urahara summoned him, and without asking what happened, set to work on her wounds again. When she was cleaned and a new yukata was brought out and she was changed, Tessai left, saying that he had to go check on Jinta and Ururu and make sure that they were breathing fine on their own now.

Breaths of relief came after she fainted; each person looked at one another. Urahara faintly cleared his throat, still not right after the incident, and spoke hoarsely when he had everyone's attention. **"I believe that things are going to get a bit more interesting."** Then turning to the still shuddering group said **"You all had better get use to this. Something tells me this is only the beginning of something more."** He spoke low, the seriousness of his tone sending chills down their spines and as eyes landed on the figure and resolves were formed, each person vowed in their minds to figure out just what the hell was going on…and they would as soon as the key to all this awoke next.

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WOOT!! Finished. I must say that this chapter makes me proud!! I hope you all had just as much fun reading as I had writing it!! ^-^ Remember constructive criticism is appreciated greatly!! Ja ne!! and don't forget to review and comment!!


	9. Story Time Part 1

Just as promised, the second chapter!! ^-^ I r proud!! heh heh, Hope you guys enjoy it!!

Disclaimer:............no, not this time...ohhh no, you know how it is...

A/N: Just a little note, the story in this chapter about Arena was thought of when I looked back on a bit of information that I remembered from a research paper for world geography in school I had to do. In one culture, I believe it was in South America or China, the female's family is what counts in a marriage, not the husband's! Cool right!! Well anyway, just to clear somethings, Urahara believe that Arena could be the child that this story revolves around. Arena is about 17-18 in the story, so it falls about right. Anyway, from what has been shown of Arena so far, Urahara speculates that she is the babe. Also, in the last chapter, Yoruichi told everyone that Arena was a mixture. I'm a big fan of mythology, so I will be adding that into the story. Not don't worry your pretty lil heads!! I'll make a bit believeable so that it doesn't seem to far-fetched m'kay kittens!?! Now that we have that cleared up...ONWARDS!!

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The events that took part the day before were still fresh in everyone's minds, replaying when they tried to sleep and echoing in their minds during the day. Hitsugaya and Urahara had silently gone into another room afterwards and held a lengthy discussion on what had transpired with Hitsugaya asking if the other events had been that devastating and extreme. Urahara had sighed and shook his head, stating that the last incident had been nothing compared to this one. He had never experienced pain and panic like he had that moment, as if his very soul was void and yet burning. Hitsugaya nodded in agreement telling of his own feelings on it and how he too had never felt such crushing spiritual energy save for Ichigo's and the Arrancar that they had encountered so far. This brought a new subject to mind. The Winter War was not far ahead, looming over everyone like a thunderstorm. This made everyone worry when this was brought up once the two returned. Speculation that if Aizen got wind of her raw spiritual energy he would waste no effort in obtaining her was passed around and eyes glanced at the figure taking short labored breaths. Orihime's eyes began to burn as she shook her head, hoping to dispel the thoughts floating in her mind. She knew of the fear that Aizen could inflict when he had sent Ulquiorra to fetch her. She was lucky that she had such stubborn and loyal friends who would risk it all for her. She had been saved, but for how much longer? How much longer would any of them be safe? Shaking her head again, she looked down at Arena's small body and continued to stroke her hair gently, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

That day would always stay with Orihime…she would never forget the over-bearing fear that chilled her when Arena had locked up, her pupils dilated, and her body started to shake uncontrollably. Tears threatened to spill when she thought the day over.

A hand brought her out of her musing and she looked up, seeing that everyone was looking at her. Following the hand to its owner, she met concerned bluish eyes as Ishida looked at her. She laughed nervously and quietly asked for him to repeat what he asked. Doing as she requested, Ishida restated what they all wondered.

**"What happened in the room before we arrived to your screams, Orihime-chan?"** He coolly asked, leaning back and placing his hands into his lap. Orihime, eyes widening and gulping softly, nodded and started to tell what she could.

**"When everyone left, the room was quiet. I kept holding Arena-san's hand like I always do and just as I had when you all left. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then I noticed a sound. It was faint so I couldn't really pinpoint where it was coming from, but as I started to look for it, it stopped. Then I felt Arena-san's hand start to twitch. I thought she was finally starting to respond when she fell backwards and started making choking sounds. I started to worry when she started twitching violently on the futon. I finally called you guys when her eyes rolled back and she was jerking off the bed and clutching her stomach. I was so scared…I….I didn't know what to do. All I could do was watch…I couldn't do anything."** She sobbed, tears glistening down her cheeks as she recalled the events leading up to the crushing pressure.

Eyes narrowed as minds digested what had been shared. Urahara broke out his revere first, looking at Orihime and smiling. **"Thank you Hime-chan. This has been a great help."**

Orihime nodded, and then gasped as she remembered something very important. Eyes snapped back to her and her shocked expression. She connected eyes with Urahara and then slowly scooted towards the still body. Making sure she had everyone's attention, she carefully started to peel back the yukata so that the right shoulder and small part of her chest showed. Drawing in a shuddering breath, she explained while she carefully moved the body to show what she had remembered.

**"When Arena-san started to convulse as you saw when you all appeared, I tried to grab her before she landed on the futon. When my hand brushed against her back, I felt something there."** Softly speaking, she finished moving the cloth so that nothing important would be shown, but enough so that they could see what she needed to show them. Gasps and indignant cries echoed through the room as eyes landed on what Orihime was showing.

Raised flesh that had obviously been treated not to the best of care was revealed. And from that they saw the numbers printed on her back along with the scarring that traveled farther down her back. None could see that far but they could guess just what was at the end of the scar and where it stopped. Orihime then pushed Arena's hair to the side and showed a small tattoo that had been carved into her flesh. The wound was extremely old and faded, yet it was still shown. The image of a hand with three small daggers, two pointing to either side of her heck and the last towards her hairline was clearly seen.

Yoruichi scooted over and gently traced the image and the scar. Anger as none had seen blazed in her eyes and a deep growl rocked the room. Helping Orihime adjust her clothing, they both laid the slumped figure down and moved back to their original position. Questions blazed along the room until the quick snap of Urahara's fan brought them back to attention. Eyes rested on him and he started.

**"We were hoping that we wouldn't be forced to be the ones to tell you all this, but it seems we have no choice."** He spoke solemnly, glancing at each person. Sighing he began.

**"Arena-san belongs to a clan that has not been seen for decades. It was thought that they had been killed off since many believed that they practiced "wicked" things. For years, many have been searching for them and while there have been signs, no hard evidence has been found to show that they are still out there. About ten years ago, an incident that happened some years ago and was discovered helped this to come to past. Someone stumbled upon the clan in the middle of one of their moon ceremonies as they call them, and was almost detained by them. While running away from the angered warriors of the shadows, as they were called also, the person came across a young woman who had with her a newborn by a small stream. Desperate to escape with his life, he ambushed the woman, snatching the child from her and continued to run. Eventually he stopped at a ledge that dropped to a rapid and deadly river below. Turning around, he came face-to-face to the clan. The young woman was at the front, screaming in their language for him to give her back her child. Knowing that he could use this to his advantage, he bargained with them.**

**His safety for the child's safe return to its mother.**

**It is said that something went wrong when the mother went to retrieve her child. Apparently the ledge was not as sound and stable as had been believed and the intruded, mother, and child fell over the cliff into the waters below. It is told that the mother caught her child in the descent and used her body to take the major impact when they fell in the water. Being pulled into the water, she knew only one would survive, and so she fought to get to the surface, trying desperately to get her baby to safety. The water kept pulling her under as the mother had not yet recovered from giving birth, yes Orihime-chan she had only given birth mere hours when he took the child, and the mother's strength was quickly falling. As it was she could only manage to keep the baby atop the water. When she saw a rotten log in the water, she knew that it was the only way. Quickly latching on, she placed and secured the baby and then pulled the log with her. Pulling herself more onto the log, she cried to her baby that she must remain strong and live. For you see, her father had died from a poison seeping into his wounds when he went hunting days before. Bringing the baby close to her, she breathed her last lungful of air into the child, giving it the strength it needed to keep alive. While it wailed, it said that a burst of light was seen and then faded. **

**The next morning the child and its dead mother were found on the banks close to the clan's resting spot. The members in the clan thought there was nothing for the child with them and when they passed a village on their travels they placed the child near one of the houses. They buried the mother with pride and never looked back. Word got around that they had passed and when the older man that lived at the house came out to see, he found the babe playing with a butterfly that had landed on its basket. Blinking, he stooped down and picked the child up. The first thing that he saw was that the child had brilliant amethyst eyes. It was said that any child born in that clan came out with amethyst eyes when first born and then the eyes would settle into a color of their own accord. This man also happened to be a researcher, so he knew immediately what this child was. He raised the child for awhile, until it was about a year in age, and then sent it to one of his sisters that lived quite a distance from where he lived. It is said that this child was sent from place to place in hopes that no-one would discover just who and what she was. For you see, a marking on her leg and neck proclaimed that she was a noble of the clan. The mother it seemed was the leader's daughter.**

**Now one thing that must be known. In society, it is the husband's family that dictates where you are in life. It is not the case for this clan. Instead it is the female's family that shows your status in life. As it is, being leader is the highest anyone can hope to achieve and to marry the daughter is the highest honor any male could dream to receive. I tell you all this to say this: I believe that our little Arena-san is that said baby that was shipped everywhere."**

Reigning supreme control, silence held the room as every person absorbed the expansive information shared and then slowly, all eyes landed on the figure it all surrounded.

Her shallow gasps had cleared and her chest rose softly as she slumbered, completely unaware of the attention being centered on her. With everything completely absorbed, the group was at a lost.

**"So Arena-san…is royalty?"** Rukia mumbled, staring down at the subject of all this mess.

**"In a sense, yes she could be. But bare in mind that it is only a speculation that I have. From what I have seen and heard, she could very well be that same child. However, let's not dwell on that right now. What needs to be discussed is how we will work out the schedule for watching her and what should be done should something like this happen again or if something triggers her memories and it gets worse."** Urahara sighed, grabbing the cup of tea in front of him and taking a sip. Words were mumbled and when Chad cleared his throat, the buzz died down yet again.

**"What if one of us walked her to school, all of us make sure that she is okay during the school day and has no difficulties, and another walks her back. We could rotate the shift that way."**

Murmurs of approval were voiced and it was decided that this would be the plan of action. When the schedule was written up, everyone was content with it. The plan was as follows: Chad would walk her to the school on the day that she would start, and then request that she be seated near a window since it seemed to calm her as they had observed. With that, the gang would watch her and make sure that she didn't have any problems. When the school day ended Renji would walk her back to the shop. On the next day, Tuesday, Orihime would be the one to walk her and Ishida would walk her back. Wednesday would be Ikkaku's and Matsumoto's turn. Thursday would be placed with Hitsugaya and Yumichika. Finally Friday would go to Rukia and Ichigo. On Saturday and Sunday, Hisagi, Yoruichi, and Urahara would take turns taking her outside to get fresh air. This would be the temporary schedule as of now. The group agreed and just as everyone was getting ready to leave for the night, for it was well past seven in the afternoon and they all had school in the morning, a whimper came from the once still body.

Feeble movements pushed the sheets off her thinning body and her eyes slowly opened. Stifling the small scream that wished to be let loose, Arena slowly sat up, clutching her abdomen and looked around. Her eyes blurrily took in the people and the new additions in the room and when she jerked suddenly, she promptly vomited. Orihime rushed over behind her and softly rubbed her back as gasps and gurgles for air came from her. When she finished upping whatever she had last in her system, she blindly reached around her and pulling the covers completely off attempted to stand up. Two pairs of arms kept her from accomplishing that task and she looked up into two pairs of worried eyes. Lightly gasping, she tiredly pulled her arms, but that only caused them to gently tighten their grips. A small whimper worked itself out and tears began to spill for the first time, the events and happenings starting to catch up.

She couldn't run now and she was left defenseless.

Trying again to make them let go, she tugged her arms away. Grips tightened more and Yoruichi settled herself beside Arena so that she was eye-level with her. This calmed Arena down some and she looked at the hypnotizing golden eyes in front of her. Her vocal chords wouldn't work, the burning and stinging of her vomiting still having hold of her and the discontinued use of her voice and lack of liquids had made her throat extremely dry and rough. She bowed her head and let a low keen out, which made Orihime get to her knees and start to stroke her hair and back. Everyone came back and sat down, knowing that if they didn't take this opportunity now, it could disappear again for a while. Feeling everyone around her and knowing that their eyes were trained solely on her made her start to hyperventilate and panic. Her heart went into overdrive and she twitched minutely. Yoruichi and Orihime immediately tried to calm her down saying that they were not going to hurt her, that she was safe, and that everyone here was not going to do anything to her.

Arena focused on calming her breathing and slowly her heart steadied. Wiping away the tears that had fallen, she took in one shuddering sigh and then looked at Urahara, who smiled at her.

**"Ahh, Arena-san thank goodness that you made it! We were starting to worry if you would survive that last little surprise you gave us!"** His tone was light, but she sensed the unease underneath.

Taking a moment to understand what he said and meant, Arena blinked slowly and then inclined her head towards her lap. Orihime and Yoruichi place her hands into her lap and sat near her. Her mouth would twitch for a moment, stop, and then begin again for a bit. Everyone waited, on look-out and tensed, watching for any sudden movements that she might make.

After a long silence, she looked up and stared at Urahara. Sighing softly, she opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't make a sound. She tried it again, but nothing came out. Reaching up a hand, she gently tapped her neck and looked sorrowfully at Urahara. He seemed to understand and smiled again.** "I don't think I'd be able to talk soon as well, with all the noise you made!"** He said, motioning for Yoruichi to go and retrieve some water for Arena. Yoruichi stood and exited, returning a moment later with a small glass of cold water. She sat by the still girl and helped her to drink, holding the cup and tilting the water forward, only pulling back when Arena would drink too fast. When she finished off the glass, she sighed again and smiled lightly at Yoruichi who smiled back and patted her hand, before taking her original position. She stared at Urahara one more time and opened her mouth. The wisps of air that flew through disappointed her, but she was grateful none-the-less.

Arena's POV

**"What happened Urahara-san? And who are all these people?"** I asked softly, my voice coming in a soft whisper. I grimaced at the flash of pain speaking caused me and kept my gaze on the man in front of me. My head was pounding from sitting up after lying down for so long, but I would endure it for how ever long it took him to answer my questions. The silence was brief, but by the time he started to answer, my eyelids were starting to droop and black was starting to creep into my vision. I could barely make out the words he spoke, only catching small bits of his sentences and words.

**"Passed out…..blood……spurted…..serious wounds…..almost lost you….screams…..Orihime had…….everyone was worried…….immense…..crushing energy……Arena-san?!"** A burst of color flashed before me and everything went black.

Third POV

Groans of disappointment were let loose as Arena slumped to her side, losing consciousness and Yoruichi reached her before she hit the floor. Her hands slowly came up and grasped Yoruichi's shirt and they watched as she fought the relentless darkness, muttering that she needed to leave and that it would burn if she didn't. Chuckles came when she slurred about stupid nosey people and can't just bleed freely without getting people involved, postures relaxed when she whined and then slumped into Yoruichi's chest, still gripping her shirt. While she was being put back on the futon, her eyes opened briefly and she muttered something that sent the room into chuckles.

**"Blood loss sucks eggs."** And with that, she was gone.

They all watched to see if she would wake back up, but when it became apparent that she would need more rest and would not be waking anytime soon, the large group silently made their way out of room and Orihime bring up the rear. She smiled when she heard Arena mutter about water and then shut the door.

The group reformed outside of the shop and farewells were said until they next met up the following morning. Ishida and Orihime walked in the same direction, making small talk and Orihime telling him of the new chocolate ice cream, bean paste, and leek creation that she had thought of. The last thing the laughing group saw was Ishida's face turning an interesting shade of green and Orihime asking him if he wanted her to bring some for him tomorrow.

Chad also bid goodnight to everyone, heading off to his own apartment.

Ichigo and Rukia were the last to leave, talking with the group sent from Soul Society and the shop-keeper and crew. Jinta and Ururu were still slightly shaken from yesterday's incident, but they were unharmed other than that. The duo wished everyone goodnight and left for Ichigo's house.

The pair walked in silence until Rukia broke it.

**"Ichigo…what are your thoughts on this Arena girl?"** She glanced over at the substitute soul reaper and watched as he composed his thoughts. What came from him surprised her a little.

**"I think that she's running from something pretty bad…and that something wants her back. I can't put my finger on it, but something is telling me that we should do everything we can to protect her. Think about it Rukia, besides the unexpected events, has she ever done anything to intentionally hurt us? She hasn't even lied to us, only shelled out the truth in bits. I can't explain it, but something in my gut is telling me that she is saying the absolute truth. While I don't trust her fully, I think that she could be a great person if given the chance."** He answered honestly…well as honestly as he could at the moment.

A contemplative silence settled over them as he reached his doorstep, Rukia hopping up to his window to avoid his father, and Ichigo opening the door and walking inside. The usual **"IIIIICCCHHHHHHGGGGGGGGOO!!!!!!!"** resounded through the house, followed by the customary kick that sent his father busting another hole into the living room. Muttering under his breath about 'delusional and unfit fathers', he ascended the stairs to his room for what he knew was going to be a lengthy discussion. He was sure that his answer had made Rukia think and when Rukia thought…it usually wasn't good for him personally.

Once he reached his room, Rukia had already settled herself on his bed and Ichigo sat down in the chair at his desk. The room was quiet until Rukia once again broke it.

**"How do you know that she is truthful with her answers hm? For all we know, she could be well adept in that art. And what is with this 'something bad' idea?...Ichigo?...Ichigo…….ICHIGO!!"**

That was what caused Ichigo Kurosaki to have a friendly face-to-face with his floor. Growling under his breath and glaring up at Rukia once he righted himself, Ichigo got back in his chair and stared out the window. When he heard Rukia draw in a deep breath, he held up a finger to let her know he needed a minute and continued to look out his window. The stars glinted and cast a twinkling show across the deep black canvas, as if someone dumped a bag full of glitter into space. Breathing deeply, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. **"I can't really give you an answer you would understand, but I feel something deep within that just tells me we know she will tell the truth. It's like…..I don't know….almost like how you know when a thunderstorm is about to come. You smell the rain in the air, but you don't see the clouds yet. Yet you know that it's coming. Think of it like that, I just feel it. That's all I got right now Rukia, now can I please go to sleep?"** He twitched and yawned lightly glad he didn't have much homework. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked at the small girl on the object of his current desire.

Rukia still looked doubtful, but sighed in defeat and got up, heading towards his closet. Before she got in, she glanced over her shoulder, one leg already in the comfortable space to her, and spoke one last time for the rest of the night. **"Just know Ichigo that not everything that seems innocent is and not everything that seems okay is safe."** She spoke and pivoted into the closet, shutting the door and letting Ichigo wonder over her words.

Once he heard her settle down, he stood up and stretched, hearing muscles pop and feeling his body loosen up. Pulling his shirt off and the undershirt beneath that, along with his socks and pants, Ichigo slid underneath his covers in just his boxers. Finding a comfortable position on his side, he looked up at the newly uncovered crescent moon and sighed deeply, turning onto his back and folding his arms under his head. His mind went over the past events and what Rukia had said to him.

Yes, Ichigo knew how dangerous it could be to let someone such as this Arena girl slip underneath his radar, but in all honesty he just could not drudge up any caution towards her. Sure, in the beginning he had, but anyone would if they were worried about a freely bleeding person getting even more blood on them and then wondering if it was going to happen again. Be mindful, Kurosaki Ichigo was no fool. He made sure to put the front that he was wary of her both in front of her and the others, but when he was alone, he couldn't help but think of the girl that had fallen into his life…literally. Sighing again, Ichigo burrowed even more into his covers and banished the thoughts deep into his mind. Sleep came to him and soon he was gone, the scowl sliding off his face and a more peaceful expression taking reign. The very last brief thought he had was, '_And speaking of which….I haven't heard from that damn hollow lately..hmm..'_

And blissful darkness cradled him through the night.

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.....you know the drill peeps!! Reviews and comments are good!! so leave one! Hope you liked this one, I kinda winged it a bit, soooo *shrug*...LUVES U!! ^-^ ja ne!


	10. Story Time Part 2

..MAN I'M ON A ROLL!!...eh he ^-^' sorry..just excited that this is revving up now!! I just might be able to update weekly now....though I'll try not to jinx myself ne?

Disclaimer:....*glares* you know it..I know it...so let's not go there..

A/N:..so I'm going there..yep, I'm trying a fight scene.....so please don't flame me if starts to give you cramps like Iba...it's not meh fault!! -hides-

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Nothing happened the next two days as the gang and the new arrivals went to school, so when they went to join up at the shop that following Saturday, they weren't expecting anything to occur.

Apparently, they were dead wrong. When they arrived on the grounds, everything was in complete chaos. Boxes were smashed in the yard. Plates, cups, and the like were littered around and inside the shop. Merchandise was completely obliterated beyond recognition and the group of worn-out and shocked residents was situated on the porch. Urahara and Yoruichi looked the worst for wear. Their clothing was torn in different locations and gashes and cuts could be seen still leaking out blood. Deep purple shadows were under their eyes and the fatigue around them was practically tangible. Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu were in better condition. Cuts and bruises adorned the tall man and his apron was in tatters. Ururu and Jinta were a bit banged up with a gash at Jinta's temple and a large cut running up Ururu's left arm.

The cries of concern and questions of what happened rang in the air as the group approached them. Orihime immediately set to work with healing them, calling upon Ayame and Shun'o to help. When all was done, Yoruichi and Urahara launched into what happened the night before.

**"We were doing a last check-up on Arena-san when we registered an unknown spiritual energy around the shop. Yoruichi stayed with Arena, who had started to become agitated and was tossing around in her sleep, muttering, and I went to go see where the strange energy was coming from. When I reached the front of the shop, there was a group made of about several figures heading towards the shop. I called out to them, but I got no response. They were a couple of yards away when they all stopped and one of them stepped forward. He, as I'll assume because of the deepness of their voice, asked if I was holding a young girl in my possession. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, saying that the only girl that was here was Ururu. The figure stayed silent while I spoke and a few minutes afterward. He asked me the same question one more time, this time demanding that I give her to them. I played it off, stating that we did not house random girls here and that's when they struck.**

**Two of the several figures pulled out swords that I had never seen before and rushed in to attack me. I took out Benihime and fought back. That's when Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu came out to assist me. They fought off the three figures that went after them, but there were still two figures that we missed. They breeched us and went into the shop. I faintly heard Yoruichi questioning them, before I felt her attack. She had put a barrier around Arena, who had awoken and was screaming at them to not hurt anyone. Yoruichi administered an anesthetic to Arena so that she wouldn't become any more agitated or panicked, and preceded to fight them. She pressed them back towards the front of the shop using shunpo and Shunko and the battle continued in the front. It went on for about fifteen minutes and then they just…vanished. As if they had never been there in the first place. We then cleaned up what we could and have been trying to figure out who they are and what they want with Arena-san."**

Urahara went silent, letting everyone absorb what had been shared. Hitsugaya was the first to voice out his thoughts. **"If they were here, then how were any of us not able to detect them?"**

Sighing, Urahara adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and tilted his head down, the shadows effectively hiding his eyes. **"That's just it Hitsugaya-taichou…I can't tell you. All I know is that they want something desperately…and it all boils down to Arena-san herself."**

The ominous tension around the group intensified and was suddenly shattered by an earth-shattering scream echoing in the air. Every head twisted upwards to see two figures speeding into the air. One of them was unknown, but the second semi-struggling figure being held was known to them all. Various cries of **"Arena-san!!"** were called out and minds frantically whirred to think of someway to stop them.

Another scream, this one weaker than the first, resounded and made the situation progressively direr. The longer they stood around racking their brains for a quick plan, the less likely they would catch up to Arena and her assailant. Finally a growl brought some of them out their musing long enough to see Ichigo grab his deputy badge and release his soul reaper form. Cries for calm thinking flew around deaf ears as Ichigo shot forward, pushing himself to get to her in time. The wind rushed around him as he started to close in and he reached behind him for Zangetsu, whose bindings were beginning to unravel, to prepare to take Arena back by force. Taking in her limp and unresponsive form, he knew she had fainted and the drips of blood sweeping off her arms and legs alerted him that her wounds had been reopened. Fury burned in his eyes, causing his spiritual energy to sky-rocket again. Bursting forward faster, he let out a cry, bringing Zangetsu forward and swinging the ginormous blade down, releasing a small amount of concentrated spiritual energy at the retreating figure. The head turned around slightly and Ichigo could see cold violet eyes, shivers going down his spine briefly before he pushed on. Those same eyes widened at the oncoming attack and they swooped down, barely managing to avoid a direct hit to the back. The figure sped downwards, trying to lose Ichigo, but couldn't succeed. It took offense, turning a palm towards the furious and determined teen and released a ball of yellow light. Eyes widening, Ichigo dodged and kept forward, eyes locked on the limp figure he was trying to get back. He swung the blade forward again, continuing to release smaller getsuga tenshou's to try and slow the figure down so that he could snatch Arena from them. More blood dripping from the figure alerted the orange-haired teen of something. _'He's been hurt too. If I can just hit him once, that might be enough for him to falter and I can get Arena without harming her even more.'_

Plan in mind, Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu's hilt with both hands and concentrate more of his spiritual energy into the blade. Holding it within, he pulled up close enough to the figure to get a clear shot and swung, shooting out the built up energy. The figure turned around and let out a startled yelp, realizing too late just how close Ichigo had gotten to them. The attack hit dead on, striking the figure square in the side and ripping apart the cloth that was around the area. This also caused him to lose his grip on Arena and her body started to descend fast to the ground. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo plunged down, right arm extended, after her hoping to get to her before anything else could happen. Slowly the distance between them closed, the yukata that adorned her body slightly aiding to slow her body. This proved useful when he just managed to get the hand that was closest. An orb of bluish light came racing towards them and Ichigo, knowing that he wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, gripped her wrist firmly and pulled Arena's body into his while gathering as much spiritual energy as he could around them to soften the impact. Keeping her in place against his chest with his left arm, he held Zangetsu with his right, hoping to counterattack the orb. Just as they were about to make contact, a red beam of light streaked in between them and discharged the orb. Ichigo looked down to see Urahara holding his own zanpaku-tou, Benihime, and grinning up at the teen. Grinning back, Ichigo began his descent down when he felt Arena tense against him, grasp the front of his shihakushou weakly, and faintly whisper, **"Behind you."**

Quickly pulling up Zangetsu, he barely blocked the sword coming down towards his back and spun around, pushing away from his attacker. Stopping a short distance, he took up a defensive stance, strengthening his hold on Arena and gripping the hilt harder, preparing for any sudden attacks. Looking closely at the figure, he concluded that it was indeed the same person that had taken Arena in the first place, the same ripped material on the side giving them away.

**"What do you want with her? Why do you want her so badly?"** He yelled out, anger burning in his dark eyes. Ichigo shifted and when he began to ask the questions again, a blur of orange and black raced beside him, heading towards the figure. His eyes widened as he saw Yoruichi place herself between them and called out to her.

**"Yoruichi, you still haven't healed yet! I can take care of him, you take Arena back and hide her somewhere safe."** He was determined to make this fight his own, but Yoruichi only glanced back at him and grinned.

**"How touching Ichigo, caring about my wounds like that! But it's not necessary. I can deal with him with no problems. You take her somewhere and keep low. We'll send someone to you when this is finished."** She called back softly, facing back to the figure and crossing her arms over her chest. Ichigo began to protest, but was stopped by a hand being placed on his shoulder. He looked over to see Urahara beside him, keeping his sight locked on the figure. **"Please do as Yoruichi says, Kurosaki-kun. We will deal with this and then re-gather at the shop. Protect Arena at any cost. You are better suited for this job."** Urahara grinned, patting the shoulder and then moving to be beside Yoruichi.

Ichigo nodded, finally deciding that they were right and turned around, heading for the shop. When he landed, everyone gathered around him, but he shook them off, placing Arena against one of the wooden beams on the porch gently and then getting back into his own body. Once inside, he picked Arena back up and headed off to his house. Cries of questions followed him and the only thing he could do was yell over his shoulder brief answers. He ran, clutching her to him, but being sure not to cause her more harm. An explosion in the air made him look up in time to see Urahara release another attack from Benihime while Yoruichi shunpo'd behind the figure and released a kidou. The attacks sandwiched the figure, resulting in another explosion. The smoke cleared later, revealing a heavily damaged man. The top of his clothing was destroyed and blood dribbled down his chest and arms. The man, glanced from Yoruichi and Urahara, and apparently realized that he wouldn't be able to take them on in his critical state, because he made a pattern in front of him and suddenly a huge bright light flared, momentarily blinding them all and when it faded, the man was gone.

Ichigo slowed his pace and stood, watching Urahara and Yoruichi converse briefly and then make their way to the shop. Deciding that he should do the same since there was no immediate danger now, he turned…and only got his left cheek grazed by the short knife thrown his way. He dodged again and looked for his attacker, growling low in his throat and keeping Arena close. He noted that she still hadn't woken up and knew that it would be difficult to protect her and keep him from getting severely injured at the same time. Just as he made up his mind to try and run for it, the air got chilly and small icicles formed with a small shower of snowflakes. A yell of his name from above gained his attention and he looked up, gaping at the figure headed towards him.

**"Toushiro!!"** The young taichou glared for a moment at the name and then narrowed his eyes, settling in front of Ichigo and getting into a defensive stance.

**"Kurosaki, run and get her out of here. Kuchiki and Abarai-fukutaichou are headed this way to assist you. Get her from here and keep her safe. We need her to answer our questions now and without delay."** He ordered, knowing that Ichigo would be more than enough to keep the girl safe. Ichigo grunted his thanks and turned, heading to his original destination, his home. Two voices calling out his name made him turn his head to see Rukia and Renji coming up behind him and soon all three were heading to his home. At this moment, Ichigo couldn't be more thankful for Yuzu begging their father to take Karin and her to see their grandparents in Osaka. The home would be empty and he wouldn't have to deal with his dad spouting out ridiculous accusations about him and the strange, though wounded and unconscious, girl in his arms. They made it to the house just as they felt Hitsugaya's spiritual energy flare and his voice cry out the command release of his zanpaku-tou.

**"Seated upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!!"** The sky darkened as a huge ice dragon erupted into the air, eyes a burning red and released a thundering cry as it circled around its wielder. Rushing up into his room, Ichigo and the other two ran to the window, with Ichigo putting down his fragile load, and watched as the prodigy of Soul Society commenced battle with the group of figures that he had forced from their hiding spots. During his battle, though short as it was, he showed them all just why people were in awe of his prowess in battle and why his zanpaku-tou was the strongest ice-water based zanpaku-tou Soul Society had ever encountered. The sheer magnitude of power radiating from both entities was phenomenal and for once Ichigo and Renji were glad that they never had to battle with the young taichou when they rescued Rukia from her execution.

They watched as Hitsugaya moved with fluid grace and immense power and quickly defeated the figures, though they got away by performing the same patterns that the first figure did against Yoruichi and Urahara. Chills shot down their spines when the dragon let out another shriek in the sky and was called back by Hitsugaya. Sheathing the sword, he started to walk back towards the Urahara-shoten and dispersed the frost and icicles that had formed during the battle. The sky lightened again and soon the sun came back with its blazing glory, warming the area considerably. The three looked at each other and then at the girl shaking on his bed, curling in on herself and making keening noises in the back of her throat. They debated and decided to wait until someone came to them to retrieve them. Ichigo sat in his chair, and Rukia and Renji sat down on the floor. Silence was broken only by the gasping breaths taken by the shuddering girl on the bed. All three kept their gaze on her and kept their sense on alert, tensed and ready for any sudden attacks. They almost jumped out of their skin when a sudden knock at his closed door sounded. Rukia and Renji, already in their original forms, went into defense and placed their hands on their zanpaku-tou hilts. Ichigo placed his self in front of Arena's still healing body, ready to grab her and run if necessary. Another knock and the rattle of his doorknob made muscles tense almost painfully and Renji was just about to move to open it when a yell that made them all sigh with relief called out to them.

**"Oi, you bakas!! You can come out and come to the shop now!...Don't make me blast this damn door down!!"** Ikkaku's brash voice hollered and growled, promising good on his last threat. As Ichigo really didn't want to have to fix a broken door and beat the shit out of Ikkaku for making him have to, Ichigo crossed over to the door and yanked open, bringing his foot up at the same time and kicking out, colliding with Ikkaku's face and sending him down the hallway and tumbling down the stairs. Thuds and a satisfying thump followed by a string of profanities none had ever heard made Ichigo grin with victory and go back into his room, bending over to pick up Arena, and then leading the two out down the stairs.

Passing by the crumpled body, Ichigo and Renji chuckled and Rukia merely sighed as they walked out the door, counting down silently until…

**"ICHIGO YOU NO GOOD BASTARD!!! YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS YOU!!!!!!!!"** The screech coming from his house cried out, a huge spike in spiritual energy making Ichigo and Renji run like hell towards the shop. Rukia kept her pace and grumbled about immature boys and such. Ikkaku blasted past her, waving around his boken, after the two and screaming out threats of bodily harm at them.

When Rukia finally made it to the shop, she witnessed Ikkaku lung at Renji who dodged and tried to find somewhere to take cover. Ichigo was hiding behind Tessai who was trying to calm the raging bald man down and keep the damage to a minimum. It took a cheerful threat of alerting Kenpachi that his third seat wanted to fight badly from Urahara for the man to calm if not, become a little frightened. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief before he was sent upward, a final surprise attack from Ikkaku catching him off guard. The scream that faded into the air made Ikkaku cackle evilly and do his lucky dance. However, he forgot one small detail.

What goes up must come down.

And that is exactly what Ichigo did, leg extended and screaming at the top of his lungs. Ikkaku slowly looked up, still smiling, and had another nice little chat with the bottom of Ichigo's shoe. The kick sent the man bowling backwards, right into a side of the wooden fence encasing the shop, and dirt and debris to scatter through the air. Ichigo let out a victory cry and proceed to taunt Ikkaku. The man slowly came out of his wooden mound and ran at Ichigo, screaming and bringing the boken down. Ichigo met him halfway, curling his left hand into a fist and pushing it forward to collide with Ikkaku's jaw….If Rukia's kick to both of their heads didn't interfere. Her screams surpassed theirs by ten-fold and the beating put all desire to continue the battle out of their system. Both men nursed their wounds and pride while shooting murderous glares at the tiny woman, who gave them right back.

The evening settled down and everyone was now healed and comfortable in the repaired shop. Tea was served as well as small sandwiches, courtesy of Rangiku and Yumichika, and silence settled over the group. The only sounds that could be heard were the slurping of tea and the thoughtful chewing of the sandwiches being devoured. Hitsugaya and Hisagi finally broke the meditative silence.

**"Urahara-san, were those the same beings that attacked the shop last night?"** Hisagi asked first.

**"And were they of the same number or were there more this time?"** Hitsugaya asked, following Hisagi's questions.

Urahara put down his cup and folded his arms across his chest. **"Hai, those were the same people that attacked us and the same goes for your question as well Hitsugaya-taichou. They were of the same number."** Sighing and leaning back, Urahara stared at the huge group in front of him.

Both men nodded and stared down, processing and trying to figure out just what this could all mean. Ishida then turned to Urahara.

**"Have you ever encountered them previous to this attack, Urahara-san?"** He asked softly, hoping to uncover something useful. His hopes were shot down when Urahara shook his head. **"I haven't, Uryuu-san. I'm sorry to say neither has Yoruichi or Tessai."**

Just as Chad was about to ask his own question, a small tired voice was heard.

**"Of course you haven't. They haven't been seen or heard of for centuries."** Heads whipped around towards the door to take in the slump figure of Arena clutching onto the doorframe and breathing harshly from forcing herself up. Orihime and Matsumoto got up quickly to help her, but she waved them off, murmuring that she didn't need their help now. She shifted, wincing at the flare of pain and heat that seared through her, and pressed up against the frame more. Her eyes looked at each person and she blinked slowly while sighing, apparently deciding on something that had been debated in her mind for a while.

Pushing off from the doorframe, she wobbled a bit before gaining a semblance of balance and caught her breath. Turning slowly, she glanced at them all one more time before slowly returning to her room, softly calling over her shoulder that if they wanted to know anything, then they should follow her. She heard the numerous footsteps coming behind her and sighed again, a shudder going down her spine, and pressed her left hand to her abdomen. She swallowed the small whimper in her throat and entered the room, immediately going to the futon and slowly easing her self onto it. The rest waited until she was comfortable before entering as well, taking their seats around her. The room she was placed in was bigger, so everyone was a bit more comfortable than before. She waited until the last person had situated themselves before taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself for whatever they may ask. She had already made her mind that she would tell them as much of the truth as she could, since they had a right to know.

_'They've been attacked and it's my fault. Lest I can do is answer any of their questions, including the new people here, since they are trying to protect me.'_ She thought, looking at the man in front of her and nodding, giving them a sign that she was ready. Urahara nodded and looked at Hitsugaya, whom he knew would have quite a bit of questions for her.

**"Hitsugaya-taichou will start. Oh Arena-san, he is the one behind you to your right."** Yoruichi helped Arena to turn towards Hitsugaya so that he could determine if she was lying or not.

Arena blinked at the shock of white hair and the piercing aquamarine eyes that were in front of her. She blinked again taking in the woman beside him.

**"I am Hitsugaya Toushiro, taichou of tenth division and the woman to my left is Matsumoto Rangiku, fukutaichou of tenth division as well. On my right is Shuuhei Hisagi, fukutaichou of ninth division, and the men next to him are Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasagawa Yumichika respectively. They are the third and fifth seats of eleventh division."** Hitsugaya introduced the others, getting that part out of the way so that the questions could be asked faster. Each person nodded when introduced and kept their gaze on Arena.

Arena nodded back and stored the names and information of each person in front of her in her mind. She brought her gaze back on Hitsugaya, trying not to let the nerve-racking stares get to her. She waited, wondering why the young man, Hitsugaya-taichou she reminded herself mentally, wasn't beginning his questions. After a few moments of silence, she realized that they were waiting for her to say her name as well. She had the courtesy to blush faintly before lowering her eyes and murmuring her name.

**"My name is Arena and I will answer any questions that any of you may have."** She looked back up, taking in the expressions on each person's face. The scowl on Hitsugaya's face slightly deepened as he stored her name into his mind. Hisagi and Rangiku nodded and waved respectively, Rangiku already feeling some affection for the tired and beaten girl in front of her. Ikkaku and Yumichika grinned with Yumichika commenting that if she didn't have those horrendous bags under her eyes and her hair was brushed, she might be beautiful. Arena raised an eyebrow on that one and twitched, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply to not pounce on him and snatch those stupid feathers from his eyebrow. The clearing of a throat caused her to open her eyes and she locked eyes with Ikkaku.

**"Don't mind him, he's always like this. So don't worry about what he says."** Ikkaku explained, looking at Yumichika who just smiled and shrugged. Arena nodded slowly, a burning pain starting to form in her chest and spread. Clutching the sheets, she fought off the over-powering need to close her eyes and blinked rapidly to push away the black that was creeping into her vision. She held up a hand when Orihime started to come near her and muttered softly that she only needed a moment.

When she succeeded in clearing her vision, she swallowed and nodded again.

Hitsugaya started off the questions.

**"Who were those men that were trying to get you?"** He had already decided that one question at time was the best tactic as Urahara had already informed him of how the first interrogation went.

Arena remained silent for a moment and then looked up, keeping her breathing steady and answered. **"I only know so much about the group that they are a part of,"** her hands shook violently at this admission and her face paled slightly, but she swallowed and continued,** "but what I do know is this: the group has not been seen or heard of, as I said early, for centuries. Many believed that they were wiped out; others believed that they have simply been in hiding for reasons unknown. The leader has never been seen save for once, and that time had been extremely bloody. No-one knows when the group was formed or how many members there are, but they do know that the group is extremely hostile and will stop at none length to obtain what ever they set their sights on."**

She stopped and smiled sardonically knowing that what she was about say would raise this to a whole new level. Leveling her gaze and retreating to the back of her mind, she spoke quietly. **"No-one can stop them…not even the Soul Society."** The outcry that came from her statement shook the room, demands of how she knew of the Soul Society and what she meant rebounding around her and digging into her mind.

Hot tears streamed as she curled into herself on instinct, trying to protect herself from the brutal onslaught of harsh words and scorching questions until a yell rose over the sound, halting everyone. Ichigo was breathing hard from his outburst and his eyes were hard, gaze still locked on Arena's trembling form. He sighed heavily and looked up at everyone.

**"I want to know just as badly as you all how she knows these things and where she is getting this information. The fact of the matter is she is still healing and has just gone through the experience of being kidnapped against her will. I think it's a bit selfish that you all have completely forgotten about that and are attacking her as harshly as you are. I understand that the need for answers is great, but lighten up will ya? She's already agreed to answer the questions we have and it's not as if she can run away in her current condition, hell she can barely speak and walk as it is. So let her breath for a minute and then keep asking your questions."** The ironic scolding coming from one of the most temperamental, stubborn, and reactive people in the room would have been funny if not for the situation surrounding said scolding.

Ichigo leaned forward and hesitantly put his hand on her back, rousing her from her retreat. Blurry and tired gray-brown orbs settled on his own dark ones and for a moment, a thankful, yet tired smile flitted over her lips before she fully uncurled and sat up, breathing slowly, stabilizing her breaths and her body relaxing slightly. Ichigo removed his hand and nodded, grunting as he moved back to his seat. Arena breathed deeply, before murmuring for them to continue.

Rangiku beat Hisagi to it, knowing that a soft voice would be what she needed at that moment.

**"How do you know of the Soul Society and what else of our own situation do you know?"** Her tone soft, Rangiku gave Hisagi a glance before returning to Arena.

Nibbling on her bottom lip and playing with her hands, Arena blinked and opened her mouth.

**"I know of the Soul Society because my grandfather told me of it before he died and a bit after his death. Ever since I was little, he would tell me stories of the great taichou and fukutaichou that dwelled in the Seireitei and helped to defend the innocents from hollows. Yes, I know of hollows very well. My mother, father, and younger brother were killed by a rogue group of hollows, but you need not know that nor do I place blame on you. It happened and can not be reversed. It is the past and we have moved on. Back to the topic, I know of the defect of the third, fifth, and ninth division taichou and I know vaguely about Aizen's plan. Yes, I know of the Winter War and the trials and struggles that Soul Society has and is facing. I even know of Hinamori Momo's coma and your brief fights, Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou, with the fifth and third ex-taichou. Hueco Mundo and Las Noches are no surprise to me what-so-ever and I know of the fight between the Arrancar and your kidnap Orihime-chan. I know it all…even about you Kurosaki Ichigo. Which I must thank you for rescuing me from that man and hiding me in your home and also apologize to you all for that fit a couple of days ago. Now are there any more questions?"**

Dazed and awed faces were directed at Arena, who was taking deep breaths to not pass out again from the blazing pain in her abdomen and the shocking pulsations in her chest. Opening her eyes, she locked them with Hitsugaya, who woke from his shock first and stared at Arena with distrust and suspicion. A low chuckle came from her as she took in everyone's reaction and expressions. Each one was pretty much the same, some differences here and there. Chad spoke first after clearing his mind of the numbing shock that ran through him during her explanation.

**"A-Arena-san…can you tell us of the reasons why they are after you?"** His voice shook for a moment, and then steadied. Arena twisted slightly and smiled remorsefully at him. Shaking her head, she responded. **"I can't tell you all the answers. That would only endanger you all more. I fully intend to repay you all and then leave."** She raised her hand sharply to put down the disagreement with what she said and continued. **"I will give you two of the briefest answers I can. One, as I'm sure Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san have shared, is that I'm a mixture of sorts. Yes, I'm human, but I'm not. That group….they injected something in me years ago. That is all I will share with you."**

Opening her mouth to share the next reason, she was interrupted by Tessai opening the door with a package under his arm. He stepped between Yumichika and Ishida, who were next to the door, and went to stand directly in front of Arena. Not daring to try to look up at him as it would most likely lead to a complete faint, Arena waited for him to sit down before looking at him. Tessai placed the package in front of her and sat back.

**"It took a couple of days, but I finally got it. I hope that you enjoy it Arena-dono."** Tessai voiced, looking from her to the package expectantly. Fingers trembled violently as Arena tugged the package forward and onto her lap. Deftly pulling the strings and unwrapping the paper carefully, she looked down at the cloth in her lap. Looking at Tessai with her eyebrow raised, she glanced down and then looked back up.

**"Just what, may I ask, is this Tessai-san?"** She spoke, voice shaking briefly.

A gleam shone beneath Tessai's glasses and his voice rumbled with pride.

**"Why, it is your school uniform for when you attend school with everyone!"**

Silence struck all as Arena slowly processed what Tessai said and what it meant. She said nothing as she looked down at the newly pressed top and skirt, her face completely devoid of emotion. She passed her hands lightly over the material, the corners of her mouth twitching and slowly looked past Tessai to lock eyes with Urahara.

**"What does he mean I will be attending the school Urahara-san?"** A chill went through their spines at the monotone voice and hollow-eyes that passed over every person in the room, stopping at the man she was addressing. Urahara laughed nervously and gulped, shifting so that he was slightly behind Yoruichi. Opening his fan, he hid his face and answered.

**"While you were resting a couple of days ago, we decided that you would attend the school with everyone and then come back here. Of course you would be escorted to and from the school grounds, which we have already made a temporary schedule of who has what day with you in the morning and afternoon. On the weekends, Yoruichi, Shuuhei-san, and I would accompany you to where ever you wished to go for the day. This would continue until things were figured out."** He smiled when he finished, hoping that nothing would happen.

Arena remained quiet during the explanation and long after it was finished, breathing silently and keeping her gaze on Urahara. A faint small sound came from somewhere and little by little, the sound grew. It became apparent that the sound was coming from Arena herself if the shaking shoulders and twitching were indications. Finally, she threw her back and laughed out loud, the sound so haunting, so sad….so dead that everyone's eyes could do nothing but continue to grow to epic proportions. Her laughter died down and she shook her head slowly, muttering under her breath in a tone too low for them to hear, and looked up, still smiling and shaking her head.

**"Oh….oh my…I thank you for…the kind thought…but there is no way I can possible attend the school with you all."** She spoke softly, yet sadly, knowing that what she was about to say would rock some of their worlds.

Rangiku frowned slightly, tilting her head and speaking lightly.

**"And what reasons would hold you back from doing so?"**

The look Arena sent her made her think of deep voids filled with nothing but icy terror, which settled in the pit of her stomach.

Sighing, Arena made up her mind to tell them just exactly why and hoped against all odds that it would not hinder her plans to leave them.

**"It's very simple actually. The first is the reason I explained earlier. I'm not human…well as human as I was when I was little and before they caught me for their own sick pleasures. The second reason and the last reason I will share with you is this."**

Piercing everyone with her heavy yet hollow stare, she spilt the truth that had some cry out in surprise, others fire more questions, and others still voice their concern.

**"I'm pregnant."**

With that one sentence, everything had just changed. In the moment those words left her mouth, the situation had completely evolved into something greater.

Because the moment she spilt that secret, gashes and deep scratches appeared on her body.

The moment she let them know, her eyes rolled in the back of her head and blood rushed out of her mouth.

The second the last word came out, blood ran swiftly over her, every wound, recent and old, opened up and let the thick liquid quickly stain her in the crimson color.

When the last rush of air was passed, her spiritual energy sky-rocketed and a huge blaze of light encased her, her screams of pure agony and torture shaking the very walls of the room and the shop itself.

Cries of her name rang forth and slowly the light faded, leaving the slightly blinded occupants to blink rapidly, clearing their vision to see what happened. After a few brief agonizing moments of blinking the lights and spots in their sight away, the group looked towards her and gasped.

There lay Arena, in a bloodied gypsy top and hakama style outfit that was torn and shredded to oblivion, with a drawn zanpaku-tou in her limp, blood stained hand. But that was not the main reason why they gasped at the sight. It was the small bump that could be seen now briefly pulsating, whatever was inside her stomach obviously causing the internal bleeding that forced the blood out of her mouth.

And the small violet-eyed girl that stood over her with a bloodied dagger in her hand, those same violet-eyes starting to mist over and her thick silver streaked dark hair curling around her while the hand that held the dagger started to rise and headed straight for Arena's chest, speeding towards her heart.

A roar of anger screeched through the room and blood spurted through the air, staining anything it touched the same crimson that leaked from Arena's limp body.

-And the ocean Waves cried as the blood Moon hovered over-

* * *

So what do ya think for my first battle scene eh? Love it or hate it? All comments, suggestions, and views are gladly encouraged and welcomed. Hope you all liked it!! Don't forget to R&R, arigatou!!


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